The Columbian Exchange is often described as beginning in the late 15th century, following Christopher Columbus’s voyages to the Americas in 1492. It is generally considered to have lasted for several hundred years, primarily from the 15th to the 18th centuries, but its effects continued well into the modern era.
This exchange involved the transfer of plants, animals, culture, human populations, technology, diseases, and ideas between the New World (the Americas) and the Old World (Europe, Asia, and Africa). As a result, its influence is still seen today in various aspects of global cuisine, agriculture, and population dynamics.
While the most intense phase of the Columbian Exchange might be viewed as ending around the 18th century, the lasting changes and new agricultural systems it introduced have continued to evolve, making it an ongoing process in the context of global history.