1. Thought Jot: Do you recognize the date 1492? If so, why?
Now, Look at the quote below. Why do you think these foods suddenly showed up where they had not been before?
“Before 1492, there were no tomatoes in Italy, no pineapples in Hawaii, no potatoes in Ireland, no oranges in Florida, and no longhorn cattle in Texas.”

2. Turn to a partner and discuss…
Why were these important foods missing in these areas before 1492?

3. Important concepts to know…
Columbian Exchange – The exchange of food, ideas, people, and diseases between eastern and western hemispheres that took place after 1492
Xoco-latl – An Aztec drink consisting of ground cocoa beans, vanilla, chilies, and water. (We still use it today)!

4. What is Xocolatl?

5. Hint: The Aztec Emperor, Montezuma drank up to 2,000 sips of it a day!
The Spanish explorer Cortes wrote the King of Spain describing it after Montezuma let him try it: “The divine drink which builds up resistance & fights fatigue. A cup of this precious drink permits man to walk for a whole day without food.”

6. Turn to your partner and discuss…
What is Xocolatl?

7. Xocolatl: Part of the Columbian Exchange!

8. The Columbian Exchange
Forms of Biological Life Going From:
Old World to New World:
New World to Old World:
Diseases:
Smallpox Measles Chicken Pox Malaria Yellow Fever Influenza The Common Cold
Syphilis
Animals:
Horses Cattle Pigs Sheep Goats Chickens
Turkeys Llamas Alpacas Guinea Pigs

9. The Columbian Exchange
Plants:
Rice Wheat Barley Oats Coffee Sugarcane Bananas Melons Olives Dandelions Daisies Clover Ragweed Kentucky Bluegrass
Corn (Maize) Potatoes (White & Sweet Varieties) Beans (Snap, Kidney, & Lima Varieties) Tobacco Peanuts Squash Peppers Tomatoes Pumpkins Pineapples Cacao (Source of Chocolate) Chicle (Source of Chewing Gum) Papayas Manioc (Tapioca) Guavas Avocados
Why did different crops grow in different areas?
What changed in 1492 that enabled foods to travel to different areas?
What are some important foods that would have been missing from your area before 1492?

10. Columbian Exchange: Things exchanged
People
Plants & Animals
Diseases
Technology
Ideas

11. Through the Next Unit:
We will be exploring what was exchanged in the Columbian Exchange in these 5 categories.

12. Thought Jot:
In the Columbian Exchange, 5 types of thing were exchanged between the New World and the Old World:
People
Plants & Animals
Diseases
Technology
Ideas
Come up with a possible example for at least 3 of these categories!