The Columbian Exchange greatly affected almost every society on earth, bringing destructive diseases that depopulated many cultures, and also circulating a wide variety of new crops and livestock that, in the long term, increased rather than diminished the world human population. Maize and potatoes became very important crops in Eurasia by the 1700s. Peanuts and manioc flourished in tropical Southeast Asian and West African soils that otherwise would not produce large yields or support large populations. In what ways did the Columbian Exchange affect almost every society on earth?