The Columbian Exchange Trivia

The Columbian Exchange Trivia

Brain Snacks: Tasty Tidbits of Knowledge

Before 1492

Potatoes in all of Ireland in 1491: zero
Tomatoes in all of Italy in 1491: zero
Peppers in all of Spain in 1491: zero
Strawberries in all of England in 1491: zero
Cocoa beans in all of Switzerland in 1491: zero
Peanuts in all of West Africa in 1491: zero
Cassava roots in all of the Congo in 1491: zero
Ears of corn in all of Europe in 1491: zero
Horses on the Great Plains of North America in 1491: zero
Coffee plants in South America in 1491: zero
Cane sugar plants in the Caribbean in 1491: zero
Fields of bluegrass in Kentucky: zero
Wheat stalks in all of the Americas in 1491: zero

Exchange of Disease

Major diseases transmitted from the Old World to the New World after 1492: smallpox, influenza, typhoid fever, cholera, scarlet fever, yellow fever, malaria, measles, tuberculosis, bubonic plague5

Major diseases transmitted from the New World to the Old World after 1492: syphilis (possibly)6

New World vs. Old World

European cities more populous than the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan in 1515: none7

Rank of the Inca among largest empires in the world in 1492: 18