Columbian Exchange

Trade goods were an important part of colonization. They were used to establish and maintain friendly relationships with Native American groups. Some European goods were ideally suited for trade. They were small and easy to transport, and appealed to the Native Americans, so were likely to be accepted. 

Hawking, the use of trained raptors to hunt wild game, was a pastime enjoyed by European nobility in the medieval period, though the sport began as early as 500 AD. Hawking bells made of brass or copper were attached in pairs to the legs of the hawk by a short leather leash, so hunters could locate their raptors in the field.

A Flushloop bell has a thin strip of brass for an attachment loop which was attached by pushing the ends through a hole in the bell and separating them. Sometimes solder was used. The two hemispheres of the bell were not crimped, but soldered flush, leaving little to no flange. Many of these bells have four encircling decorative grooves, two on each hemisphere.  Flushloop are more commonly found, and appear to have been in use from the seventeenth century onward, while Clarksdale bells tend to be found in earlier contexts, usually during the sixteenth century.

Beginning with Columbus, European explorers and colonists gave Native Americans glass and ceramic beads as gifts and as trade goods. Before Europeans arrived, Native Americans made beads from bone, shell, and stone. European glass beads, however, became very sought after among Native American groups. Glass bead manufacture rose in Europe, primarily in Venice, to meet the needs of European traders in the New World. 

The collection of glass beads which arrived in the Americas aboard La Belle are unparalleled in number and composition. 785,000 beads were recovered from the shipwreck, a broad assortment intended for trade with local tribes whose preferences were as yet unknown. This was likely one of the last times a large bead assemblage was randomly selected by Europeans for first contact trade with Native Americans. The contents of later shipments were determined by known Native American preferences for specific colors or styles. 

These iconographic rings are part of an assemblage of over 1,600 found aboard La Salle’s sunken ship, La Belle. Rings like these were commonly used as trade goods in the New World by French missionaries, traders, and colonial administrators. The La Belle rings were not only the largest assemblage of these rings yet found, they also were the first case of such rings being found in the context of a shipwreck.

The Columbian Exchange included the unintended introductions of Old World elements. For example, this rope coil came to Texas aboard La Salle’s ship La Belle. That wasn’t the unintended part. Hidden within the rope were parts of adult cockroaches, as well as their eggs. Cockroaches were not native to the Americas, but arrived on European trade ships.

Other unintended imports include seeds and spores. For example, the bur clover seed hitched a ride aboard La Belle as well. Now considered an invasive weed species, the bur clover has been traveling around the world with humans for centuries. The La Salle expedition may have played a part in the bur clover’s colonization of America.

Grape seeds were also found aboard La Belle, likely from wine casks brought from France.

On the other hand, La Belle also held pecan nuts, which were brought on board before it sank. These are native to Texas, and French explorers and colonists quickly learned they were valuable sources of food. 

Recipe: New World Brownies

This recipe combines some wonderful New World ingredients!