`` 1493 : Uncovering The New World Columbus Created By Charles C. Mann

Charles C Mann, the author of 1493 provides an extensive analysis of the age of exploration through a series of best-selling books. He illustrated both pre-columbian and post Columbian era and established the significance of globalization across the world through the books 1491 and 1493.The book was first published on 2011 as a continuation of 1491 that recorded America before the arrival of Columbus.Charles C Mann provided an astonishing interpretation of columbian exchange through examining several aspects of global trade.He integrated social economical and cultural components of globalization to inform readers on how it shaped the modern world.The author’s main purpose was to engage readers in critical thinking and evaluate both advantages and disadvantages of globalization that united the world.Globalization blended many cultures and tradition and increased the survival of humankind.Moreover, the Columbian exchange ranked Europe among the greatest powers of the world; thus, Charles C Mann also discussed significant European pressures that lead to the everlasting transformation of the world.

In the book The Conquest of America by Tzvetan Todorov, Todorov brings about an interesting look into the expeditions of Columbus, based on Columbus’ own writings. Initially, one can see Columbus nearly overwhelmed by the beauty of these lands that he has encountered. He creates vivid pictures that stand out in the imagination, colored by a "marvelous" descriptive style. Todorov gives us an interpretation of Columbus’ discovery of America, and the Spaniards’ subsequent conquest, colonization, and destruction of pre-Columbian cultures in Mexico and the Caribbean. Tzvetan Todorov examines the beliefs and behavior of the Spanish conquistadors and of the Aztecs.

1) The book, 1491, by Charles C. Mann gives readers a deeper insight into the Americas before the age of Columbus, explaining the development and significance of the peoples who came before us. Moreover, Mann’s thesis is such; the civilizations and tribes that developed the Americas prior to the discovery by Europeans arrived much earlier than first presumed, were far greater in number, and were vastly more sophisticated than we had earlier believed. For instance, Mann writes, regarding the loss of Native American culture:

In 1492, after Christopher Columbus sailed across the Atlantic Ocean and landed in the Americas for the first time, there was a huge exchange of plants, animals, diseases, and people that interconnected the world as it is today. This exchange of goods is now known as the Columbian Exchange. The Columbian Exchange has had a massive impact on our world and is still going on today. Although disease had a huge impact on the world during the Columbian Exchange, the most important effect of the Columbian Exchange was the exchange of crops. The production of sugarcane contributed to the need for slaves, one the tragic events in United States history. Also, tobacco saved Jamestown colony in the 1700’s from failing by providing wealth for the colony.

Once the English back home heard the good news, thousands of settlers flocked to Virginia to try and get rich quick by planting tobacco, whether they came over as free planters or indentured servants. Tobacco proved to be very profitable and turned poor farmers into rich men in short periods of time, leading to what was called the Tobacco boom. It became a main export of the colonies and reaped huge profits. When there were not many ways for colonists to make money and earn a living, tobacco came just in time to help poor farmers create an economy for themselves and the taxation of tobacco earned profits for the Virginia Company of London. The 17th century was a time of growth for the Europeans in terms of creating a thriving settlement colony, but sadly a time of decline for the Native Americans. Tobacco farming and a chance at a new life free from religious persecution and poverty attracted and brought over thousands of settlers aiming to get rich, and with them they also brought many diseases, religions, means of trade, and war. These lands were being settled on by Europeans in large acreage to produce tobacco, but that meant that land was being stripped away from Native Americans. Natives and Europeans would come to fight for control of these territories in Virginia and New England in the following years. With its introduction into the

Mintz talks about the significance of 1492 to the world from a historical standpoint and gives a balanced account of Columbus’ discoveries. On one hand, he said Columbus’ discovery was positive due to the introduction of new foods, an established global pattern of trade, and a transformation of the natural environment. On the other negative side, he said the spread of disease and the introduction of slave labor to fill a gap of labor lost due to death by disease

We live in a world where we are surrounded by different people who come from very different backgrounds. We live in the United States, where it is filled with a very diverse community. We bump into people who are from a different race, religion, and culture. We should not be ashamed of this, but rather we should embrace who we are. Unfortunately, here in the United States, not everyone thinks that way. As children we tend to believe everything people tells us, especially when it comes from a teacher, which they are suppose to teach us and make us aware. As children, we were taught that the white men always save the day and they were our heroes. This is called Eurocentric, focusing on just Europeans and their culture and their history. But what happens to the rest of the history, the history of the people before the Europeans arrived to America?

It is 1492, and many Europeans are hungry for exploration. The “New World” was seen as the future of trade. But there was one problem; the current way of shipping from Asia was by slow land travel, touching many hands before they reached the European market. With a market that was hungry and the means to travel by sea, Christopher Columbus set sail under the endorsement of queen Isabella of Spain, searching for passage to Asia. What Columbus would find was not Asia, but America. This discovery as time would tell, would not come without consequence. In the age of the new world, exploration, conquest and settlement would have consequences for both the people who were adventuring to these new lands as well

Christopher Columbus “discovered” the New World, creating the search for profits determining the direction of Spanish exploration. In 1504, Hernando Cortes had sailed the Atlantic Ocean with 600 men, ten cannons, weapons and horses. They had come to fight and conquer “To justify their own imperialism, the rival Europeans elaborated upon some very real Spanish atrocities to craft the notorious persistent “Black Legend”: that the Spanish were uniquely cruel and far more brutal and destructive than other Europeans in their treatment of the Indians. (American Colonies p.51)

When it comes to the topic of Native Americans, there exists vast misunderstandings of who these people actually are. For many parts of the world, a Eurocentric narrative dominates the literature and research on them. In 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus, Charles Mann seeks to shift the discussion about Native Americans to one that focuses on the culture that had developed independently from “Old World” influences through criticizing academia and the ideas people have for natives that they were undeveloped and unsophisticated based on European standards of development. He notes that many academics have preconceptions that Native Americans are static and have never been civilized without consideration for the changing circumstances and genocides that have led to their poverty. The underlaying racism that tinge many works of research cause them to dismiss the enormous mounds from past civilizations and the fact that those who built them had ways to shape the earth in subtle and unprecedented ways. Ultimately, Mann himself falls into the trap of using

In the United States, when a child is asked to think about Christopher Columbus, chances are the child will portray him as a courageous, heroic explorer who discovered America. However, when a child is asked about what they think of when they see an Indian, the child will most likely describe a half-naked human with a feather on his head. Any young American will unknowingly stereotype Indians as figures of the past. These cognitive constructs [stereotypes] are often created out of a kernel and then distorted beyond reality (Hoffmann, 1986). Without any doubt, these attributed characteristics are incorrect. Unfortunately, the majority of Americans regard Indians as “obstacles to white settlement.” However, historians, scientists, and researchers understand the fact that Indians were “one of the principle determinants of historical events.” So where does the tragic level of misinformed Americans come from?

In the year 1492, Columbus changed human history forever when he landed in the Americas; his voyage was ground breaking and revolutionary, but it is hard to imagine what his journey could have accomplished with even a fraction of the technology available to the world today. Four inventions in particular would have made the largest impact. With the Internet, steam ships, machine guns, and the tractor Columbus would have had all the tools needed for a full scale military takeover and settlement before he even arrived on American shores. The real conditions of his voyage were much trickier without them; George Santayana described it perfectly when he said, “Columbus found a world, and had no chart. Save one that faith deciphered in the skies.”

Charles C. Mann is a very credible source in my opinion. Mann uses many historical references in his book 1493 that give me a reason to believe that he is a credible source. Mann often presents his research from other sources and then expresses his opinion on their research. Mann also goes to historians and reads other historical books dealing with Cristoper Columbus and the colonization of the Americas.As previously stated Mann is a credible source if you are intrested in find out more information on the colonization o the Americas.

Why do we divide the history of the Americas into eras either before or after Columbus?

The “new world” that Columbus boasted of to the Spanish monarchs in 1500 was neither an expanse of empty space nor a replica of European culture, tools, textiles, and religion, but a combination of Native, European, and African people living in complex relation to one another. »full text