Americas Colonial Era

"For the natives, they are neere all dead of Small poxe, so as the
Lord hathe cleared our title to what we possess." - John Winthrop. As
the exploration of America began to wind down, colonies began to
appear throughout the continent. The settling of America brought more
than just strangers (tassantassas as the Natives knew them) to this region
of unknown wonders. In fact, the effect the newcomers had on America
was powerful, as they had brought items with them on their journeys that
had previously not existed there. From the exchange of goods that gave
both regions what they didnt have before, to the accidental hauling of
worms, to the development of tobacco, these tassantassas changed
Americas landscape in ways nothing else could.
A milestone in the colonization of America was laid with the
development of the Columbian Exchange, of which brought exotic new
trades to Europe from the Americas and vice-versa. Upon the arrival of
these new items, which included crops and animals, both continents
were greatly affected. Trading has been a part of life for thousands of
years, but the Columbian Exchange was different, as it affected the
landscape of America as much as it did the people. There were pros and
cons to this exchange. One the pros would be the newly discovered
relations between both groups of people. The trade also gave both
regions strange items that they had never seen before, such as potatoes,
tomatoes and corn from America, and wheat and domestic animals like
pigs and horses from Europe. Chili peppers also came from America, but
they are more popular with Asian dishes rather that European. Not
everything that was conveyed back and forth was beneficial, however.
With the trading of new objects also came the dispersing of foreign
diseases, particularly passed on from the Europeans to the Native
Americans. With no natural immunity to these diseases, many Native
tribes suffered greatly in numbers.
Of course, more living beasts were brought to America besides the
obvious. The unintentional shipping of earthworms from Europe began
with the production of tobacco. The ships that came from Europe to
collect the freshly cultivated tobacco used soil, dirt, and rocks as the
ballast in order to keep the ship afloat without tipping. Once the ships
reached America, the soil was dumped overboard on the Atlantic coast
so that the crew could fill up the bottom of the ships with tobacco. The
soil was the habitat for worms, which populated the coast after being
emptied on the continent. However, despite their seemingly invaluable
appearance, the worms made a huge difference in the landscape of
America, and though a worm cannot inch very far in its lifetime, through
the centuries they were able to scatter throughout the North America. It
is believed that earthworms in America were wiped out during the last
Ice Age, giving the opportunity for special types of trees to grow. The
forests of these trees depended on the litter of leaves that gradually piled
up on the ground to provide them the vital nutrients they needed to
survive. When the worms arrived in America, they subsequently
devoured and decomposed the leaves on the forest floor, leaving it open
and dry. Generations of trees died because the seedlings that had fallen
to the ground were eaten. As a plus, the worms moving under the dirt
loosened the soil, losing the rock solid texture it once had. This aided in
the cultivation of new European crops.
Tobacco was the top reason for Jamestowns success. It was grown
by the Native Americans in the area when the settlers first arrived, but
the colonists did not find it appealing, only bitter. The Europeans in the
homeland werent fond of the tobacco either, and it wasnt smoked again
for some time. Nevertheless, after John Rolfe bought Central American
tobacco seeds from Trinidad and began growing them around
Jamestown, the colony began to prosper. The type of tobacco raised by
Rolfe was called the Virginia Blend, a special mixture of North and
Central American breeds of tobacco. The blend was shipped back to
England and was soon in high demand in many European nations. As a
result, the production of tobacco increased almost six times by 1630.
Even by 1620, Jamestown shipping 50,000 pounds of the blend. Before
this explosion of fortune, the colony of Jamestown was unremarkable,
except for the fact that it was unkempt to the point of instability. After
Jamestown began exporting tens of thousands of pounds of tobacco, the
colony really began to take root, with buildings shooting up and the
expansion of an originally inhabitable environment rapidly spreading.
Jamestown was headed toward a brighter future with its newfound
success. Nonetheless, not everyone in the area was satisfied by the
growth of a new society.
The Native Americans had their own lifestyle created in the
Americas, rooted in tradition and culture. When the settlers began their
colonization, however, they brought more with them than was tolerable
by the Native Americans. Domestic animals-goats, cattle, pigs, and
horses-brought from England were a major problem with the Natives.
They roamed on Indian lands, stomping on the harvests the Natives
needed to cope with the winter. If they killed the animals, the colonists
of whom the creatures belonged to demanded payment for their loss.
The English had looked down upon the Native Americans because of
their lack of domestic animals, but after the marriage of Pocahontas and
John Rolfe, when peace was among the two peoples, the animals were
given the opportunity to multiply, and the colonists lost track of them.
Once this multiplication of animals happened, they were no longer
controlled and kept getting in the Natives way. The pigs, though, were
the worst among the animals. They used their noses to dig up edible
roots, one of which was Tuckahoe, which the Indians depended on when
all else failed. These they ate and the Indians lost part of what they
needed to fall back on in the rough wintertime. Another heavy impact on
the way the landscape was changed was caused by the European
honeybee; they pollinated anything they came across, much unlike most
types of bees. The Europeans only imported bees for the sugary honey
they produced, but pollination took place regardless. Without the bees,
America probably would not have all of the non-native plants it has
today, all of the different plants the Europeans brought with them, that
is.
Rather than adapting to the New World, the settlers tried their best
to change it to best suit their needs. In most cases, this worked, despite
setbacks and challenges issued by a rebellious force and a strange
foreign land. The strangers faced these difficulties head on. The impact
the settlers had on the now united America that is known today was
enormous and is still extremely obvious. With all of the new and
exciting items the Europeans brought with them to this land, more
than just physical objects were acquired. We gained a national language,
a major influential religion, and traditions that we could not have
obtained without the unique practices of the colonists. The landscape
was impacted, too. Along with its native plants and animals, it has
attained important new resources, features, and, yes, worms. The farms
of America still grow tobacco, which continues to be a source of income
for the country. America still has ties to other regions in the world, and
it remains an area of interest and wonder to this day. The country trades
as well, enduring as a surviving remnant of the Columbian Exchange.
America has grown, and it will continue to grow for centuries to come,
but one thing will never change: the fact that this countrys foundation
was built on the actions of the colonists, and that is how it will always
be.