The interchange of living things, including plants and animals, between the Eastern and Western Hemispheres is known as the "Columbian Exchange." The term "Columbian" relates to Christopher Columbus, who made the Western Hemisphere known to those in the Eastern Hemisphere, particularly in Europe.
The so-called "Columbian Exchange" was actually the culmination of several small-scale organism exchanges across the hemispheres rather than a purposeful and calculated action. Examples include the importation of European livestock (sheep, goats, donkeys, horses, and cattle) into the Americas and the importation of American plants (maize, potatoes, tomatoes, avocados, cassava, several species of beans, chilis, several species of squash, etc.) into Europe and other parts of the world. A smaller number of American animals were traded, but some were: llamas, vicunas, turkeys, macaws, chinchillas, and Chihuahua dogs. The latter were only curiosities and never had the same level of economic significance as some of the others.
Disease-causing organisms also play a role in the Columbian Exchange: following the discovery of the Americas, microbes and, in certain cases, the vectors of diseases including syphilis, malaria, yellow fever, Chagas, smallpox, and measles traveled across the hemispheres.
Human populations, predominantly from the Eastern to the Western Hemisphere, are not included in the Columbian Trade. Caucasoids and Negroids became permanent inhabitants of the Western Hemisphere as a result of the exchange. The transferred technological processes are also not taken into consideration.