What impact did Europeans have on their New World environments€”meaning native peoples and their communities as well as ecological elements such as...

Both the
New World and the Old World influenced each other heavily in what is called the Colombian
Exchange. Diseases such as smallpox wiped out entire villages of Native Americansaround ninety
percent of the Native Americans in the New World died due to disease brought from the Old World.
These weakened strong empires enough so that small groups of Europeans could wipe out
civilizations that had existed for hundreds of years.

The Spanish, realizing
the power of the horse, initially forbade Native Americans from owning them. The horses soon
escaped, and Native Americans on the Plains soon became adept riders, using the horse to hunt
buffalo and in war. The arrival of the horse led to the Cheyenne and Lakota becoming strong
Plains tribes.

Pigs also escaped from farmers and became feral hogs. Having
no natural predators, these pigs soon reproduced and destroyed native crops. Today feral hogs
remain nuisance animals throughout the southeastern United States. Europeans also brought
wheat...