Major Aspects of Old and New World Exchanges

Major Aspects of Old and New World Exchanges
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Major Aspects of Old and New World Exchanges
There are various fundamental aspects which characterize exchanges in the old and new worlds. These aspects have facilitated the growth and advancement of the global economy. This exchange occurred prior to the Columbian Exchange, which begun in 1492 following Columbus (Pigott, et al. 2014). Despite the fact that the exchange between the two worlds came with some negative impacts, including but not limited to the increased spread of disease, it also helped in opening up the world to the benefits of trade. In essence, the exchange in the old and the new world helped pave way for the modern global economy through exchange of goods, ideas and culture.
One aspect that characterized exchange in the old and new world is that of demand and supply. Arguably, the rate of exchange in the two worlds was greatly influenced and determined by the level of demand (Van Kleunen, et al. 2015). Unlike the old world, which had learned to domestic animals, the new world was over reliant on vegetables as a source of food. The old world which encompassed Africa, Europe and Asia relied on fruits and animals for survival. As exchange grew, demand for these products increased with Europe providing demand for new plants such as potato, a plant which was found to do extremely well in European tropical areas.
The exchange between the old and the new world also helped in supplementation of goods. In line with this, exchange was characterized by movement of goods from areas where there was surplus to areas where there was scarcity. For example, the new world had an abundance of vegetable plants which slowly found their way to the old world. On the other hand, the old word had a surplus of fruits and animals which were traded with the new world for other commodities (Van Kleunen, et al. 2015). While exchange in the new world relied on strategic technological platforms, exchange in the old world relied on distinct key routes. It should however be noted that these techn...