1493: Uncovering the New World Columbus Created

Christopher Columbus is best known as the voyager who discovered the New World. In 1493, Columbus landed on the Caribbean Island of Hispaniola. His venture to Hispaniola opened the Columbian Exchange and established European colonies in the Americas. Believing he was on a mission from God to bring Christianity to China, Columbus sought a new route to China to open trade with this prolific empire and spread his religious message. In his book, Mann explores the ramifications of the Columbian Exchange and the way that it connected the world through trade and established a new evolutionary era known as the Homogenocene.

Colón’s legacy has been shaped by his brutality toward Indigenous populations in the Americas. Along with his ships, Columbus brought disease and a violent attitude toward Indigenous peoples. Mann’s book embraces this criticism while presenting a multi-faceted view of Columbus. While Mann does not shy away from Columbus’s negative qualities, the author proposes that Columbus is worth attention because of the widespread influence of his actions. 1493 attempts to explore the ways in which Columbus’s initial voyages created a framework for change that shaped modern history.

Mann’s first chapter centers on two monuments. The first pays homage to Christopher Columbus. The second is a statue of Legazpi and Urdaneta, Spanish conquistadors who traveled from Mexico to China in the 1500’s. Paired together as they are in Mann’s work, Legazpi and Urdaneta’s histories are intrinsically linked. The two men managed to accomplish what Columbus originally intended: to establish trade with China via the Philippines. The Chinese reported that the Spanish had silver, establishing a system of trade between the Americas, Europe, and China that altered the global trajectory forever.

In the Philippines where the monument to Legazpi and Urdaneta stands, their legacy is challenged by anti-Spanish sentiment. Like Columbus, Mann suggests that one must view Legazpi and Urdaneta through the lens of the influence of their actions. Mann asserts that their histories are worth exploring because they are profound and paved the way for modern history.

John Rolfe was an early English settler in North America, arriving in May of 1610. He is credited for establishing tobacco, as well as bringing earthworms, in the Americas. When Rolfe arrived in Jamestown, he was shocked by the dire conditions and disease he confronted. Rolfe attempted to create a viable system for survival in the Americas. Wanting to capitalize on the new global trade presented by the Columbian Exchange, Rolfe cultivated Spanish tobacco, known for its sweet flavor, in the Virginia colony.

Rolfe married Pocahontas, daughter of Powhatan. Their marriage created temporary peace between English settlers and Indigenous peoples. Before her death, Pocahontas joined Rolfe on his plantation in Virginia. The tobacco that Rolfe established in the Americas became profoundly influential across the globe. China developed a rich culture centered on tobacco; wealthy men and women developed accessories and rules of etiquette and Chinese poets even devoted lines of verse to the addictive plant.

English explorer John Smith is best known for his relationship with Pocahontas, daughter of Powhatan. According to Mann, Smith’s historical accounts are dotted with inaccuracies and exaggerations. However, Smith is largely responsible for the success of Jamestown and the survival of colonists in Virginia. Smith was taken captive by the Powhatan people and convinced Powhatan that Europeans were worth keeping around for trade. By forging alliances with the Powhatan people, Smith secured safety and food for European settlers.

Smith took control of Jamestown and established a system of trade with the Powhatan people in return for food. In 1609, Smith left for Europe for medical treatment. The relationship between the Powhatan people and Jamestown deteriorated. Smith did not return to the Americas until 1614.

Between 1577 and 1580, Sir Francis Drake sailed around the world. When he returned to London, he convinced the monarchy that a water channel could be cut through North America to connect Europe to China, a highly desirable trade relationship. While traveling, Drake encountered Spanish ships and stole Spanish silver mined from the Americas.

A story of Drake circulated long after his encounter with the Spanish, claiming that Drake stole potatoes from the Spanish ships and brought them back to Europe. In 1853, a statue of him was erected in southwest Germany, hailing him as the “disseminator of the potato in Europe” (254). Mann argues that Drake is not responsible for the distribution of the potato, and that all credit should go to the Andean peoples who cultivated it.

Drake additionally played a key role in Panama where he attempted to, once again, loot Spanish ships. Coming across enslaved peoples working to load wood outside Nombre de Dios, Drake helped them ashore, setting them free to start a maroon community.

When colonists arrived in what they dubbed Jamestown near the Chesapeake Bay, they encountered an already thriving civilization called Tsenacomoco led by Powhatan. His leadership had expanded what was once six small villages into eight thousand square miles of developed community. It is estimated that Powhatan ruled between 13,000 and 34,000 people.

After capturing John Smith, Powhatan developed a relationship of trade with the Jamestown colonists. Smith provided the Powhatan people with weapons and other goods they could not make in the Americas, and Powhatan returned the trade with food. Powhatan’s daughter, Pocahontas, befriended John Smith and, later, married John Rolfe.

Pocahontas was the daughter of the paramount chief Powhatan, ruler of Tsenacomoco. Pocahontas is best known for her relationship with Jamestown, Virginia. Captured by Jamestown colonists, Pocahontas converted to Christianity and was baptized under the name Rebecca. She befriended adventurer John Smith, although the stories of their relationship are largely exaggerated. Pocahontas did marry an English colonist, however. John Rolfe, a tobacco planter in Jamestown, married Pocahontas and took her to England. While there, Pocahontas grew in fame.

Rolfe and Pocahontas lived in England before setting sail to return to Virginia. While on the ship, Pocahontas became gravely ill. She died before the ship reached the Thames River. At the time of her death, Pocahontas was only 20 or 21 years old.

Born in 1746, Hong Liangji was a poet and scholar. He was recognized for studying waterways and creating a “comprehensive geography of the Qing empire” (227). Mann recognizes Liangji for an intellectual contribution that goes largely unnoticed by modern scholars. Liangji proposed a theory that was later put forth in less detail by Reverend Thomas Robert Malthus.

Liangji noted China’s growing population. He asserted that as food supply increases to meet a growing population, that population will continue to grow to meet the increase in food supply. This, Liangji suggested, created an unsustainable cycle. Liangji proposed—a component missing from the reverend’s theory—that this cycle will always lead to ecological disaster. His theory was proven in China as growing food demands meant that farmers pushed into the mountainous regions, contributing to erosion and flooding.

Born in 1766, Thomas Robert Malthus became the world’s first known economist. Malthus published An Essay on the Principle of Population after listening to his father gloat about the improvement of society. His views were controversial and widely popular.

Five years after Hong Liangji proposed his theory, Malthus put forth a similar hypothesis. Malthus claimed that the power of population would always outweigh the ability of the earth and agriculture to meet its demands. This theory, now called the Malthusian trap, received much attention. Malthus later left his scholarly life to become a curate for the Church of England.

Rubber became widely popular in North America has colonists discovered its ability to keep water from penetrating shoes. However, the rubber market crashed because the substance was unstable and eventually melted. Charles Goodyear, a bankrupt entrepreneur, decided that he would find a way to stabilize rubber. He tried many different methods and consistently ran out of money and landed in debtor’s prison.

By accident, Goodyear mixed rubber with sulfur and discovered that this method stabilized the substance. Despite his discovery, Goodyear struggled to reproduce the experiment because of his lack of funds. Even while attempting to share his discovery, Goodyear was thrown again into debtor’s prison. The process he discovered was vulcanization. Goodyear is recognized for his contribution, and Goodyear Tire later named its company after this happenstance inventor.

Juan Garrido, also known as Joaõ Garrido, was an African who was enslaved as a child and taught Portuguese. Mann cites Garrido as an example of the influence of the African diaspora. Garrido traveled back to Portugal later in life and developed a relationship with Hernán Cortés. Garrido and Cortés seized the Triple Alliance—also known as the Aztec empire—an alliance of three city-states ( Tenochtitlan, Texcoco and Tlacopan) in the Valley of Mexico with a population of 5-6 million. The conquistador victory was a combination of force and chance; a smallpox epidemic depleted the forces of the Triple Alliance.

Cortés asked Garrido to build the Chapel of the Martyrs, a monument to fallen conquistadors, and to build what is now Mexico City on top of the ruins of the Triple Alliance. Garrido also contributed the Homogenocene by successfully growing wheat in Mexico, a crop that earlier had not been sustainable in Mexico’s climate. Wheat became an important part of the culture and became a powerful symbol of the Spanish elite.

Born in 1485, Hernán Cortés was a Spanish conquistador who, along with Juan Garrido, seized the Triple Alliance and established a new Spanish city now called Mexico City. Cortés used Indigenous peoples to gain power. Mann suggests that Cortés had “more unfree Indians than anyone else in the world” (386). In fact, the use of Indigenous Americans by Cortés led the Spanish king to issue the New Laws, banning slavery of Indigenous people in the Americas. However, Cortés and other conquistadors did not comply, and, ultimately, profit margin through forced labor won this battle of morality.

After dismantling the Triple Alliance, Cortés was given the title “Marquis of the Valley of Oaxaca. He devoted his energy into many other ventures, all of which failed due to his lack of attention. He died in Spain in 1547.

In 1528, more than four hundred men landed in Florida in search of gold. After many mishaps, only four remained, including an enslaved African named Estaban and his Spanish owner Dorantes. The four men travelled across Mexico, enduring hunger and hardship. Over time, word of the four travelers spread to local tribes, and the men were welcomed as spiritual healers. They donned feathers and beads, leaning into their roles. Esteban operated as the group’s scout. He went ahead into the villages and developed connections.

Eight years later, the men returned to Mexico City. The three Spanish men were honored, and Esteban was sold again into slavery. Estaban managed to escape and soon developed another following as a spiritual healer. Multiple stories persist about Estaban’s death. According to the Zuni, they captured Esteban, wanting to keep this extraordinary man and powerful healer. To keep him from escaping, they cut off his legs and showered him with a lavish living. Mann cites Esteban as an example of human perseverance and the incredible influence of Africans on the American landscape.