Imagine you're having a vanilla and chocolate ice cream cone on a hot day. You can thank the Columbian exchange for that treat. What's that?
It was the movement of people, animals, plants, ideas, and even diseases between Europe and the Americas. It began when Europeans first reached the Americas. Here’s how.
Vanilla and chocolate both come from plants that are indigenous, or native, to Mexico. Before European exploration, there were no cows in the Americas. So there was no cream. There was also no sugarcane to provide sugar. Not until the Columbian exchange could all of these ingredients be combined to make your ice cream cone. The Columbian exchange changed the world forever. Some of the changes were good. Some were bad.
