The Columbian Exchange Interactive Web¶
Learning Objective¶
Interactive diagram of the bidirectional Columbian Exchange showing plants, animals, and diseases moving between the Americas and the Old World, with historical impact ratings and significance notes for each transfer.
- Bloom Level: Understand (L2) — Explain
- Library: p5.js | Chapter: 2 — Pre-Columbian Americas and European Contact
Interactive Sim¶
About This MicroSim¶
Twelve items — six from the Americas (maize, potato, tobacco, cacao, tomato, sweet potato) and six from the Old World (smallpox, horse, cattle, wheat, sugarcane, measles) — are shown as clickable cards in their respective zones. Clicking any card opens a detail panel with the transfer direction, impact rating (Medium/High/Catastrophic), and a 2-sentence historical significance note. A toggle filter highlights only High/Catastrophic items.
Embed This MicroSim¶
<iframe src="https://dmccreary.github.io/us-history/sims/columbian-exchange-web/main.html" height="522px" width="100%" scrolling="no"></iframe>
Lesson Plan¶
Duration: 15 minutes | Grade: High School | Subject: U.S. History
Before: Ask: "What do you think moved from the Americas to Europe after 1492? What moved the other way?"
During: Students click all 12 items, recording 2 from each direction they find most historically significant and explaining why.
After: Discussion: Why were the disease transfers so asymmetric — why did Europeans have immunities that Indigenous Americans lacked?
Extension: Students trace ONE item (e.g., the potato) and explain its global impact across three different regions.
References¶
- Alfred Crosby, The Columbian Exchange: Biological and Cultural Consequences of 1492 (1972)
- Alfred Crosby, Ecological Imperialism: The Biological Expansion of Europe, 900–1900 (1986)
- Jared Diamond, Guns, Germs, and Steel (1997) — Chapter on the role of Eurasian diseases in conquest