1493

Uncovering the New World Columbus Created

By: Charles C. Mann

Narrated by: Robertson Dean

Length: 17 hrs and 46 mins

Publisher's summary

From the author of 1491—the best-selling study of the pre-Columbian Americas—a deeply engaging new history of the most momentous biological event since the death of the dinosaurs.

More than 200 million years ago, geological forces split apart the continents. Isolated from each other, the two halves of the world developed radically different suites of plants and animals. When Christopher Columbus set foot in the Americas, he ended that separation at a stroke. Driven by the economic goal of establishing trade with China, he accidentally set off an ecological convulsion as European vessels carried thousands of species to new homes across the oceans.

The Columbian Exchange, as researchers call it, is the reason there are tomatoes in Italy, oranges in Florida, chocolates in Switzerland, and chili peppers in Thailand. More important, creatures the colonists knew nothing about hitched along for the ride. Earthworms, mosquitoes, and cockroaches; honeybees, dandelions, and African grasses; bacteria, fungi, and viruses; rats of every description—all of them rushed like eager tourists into lands that had never seen their like before, changing lives and landscapes across the planet.

Eight decades after Columbus, a Spaniard named Legazpi succeeded where Columbus had failed. He sailed west to establish continual trade with China, then the richest, most powerful country in the world. In Manila, a city Legazpi founded, silver from the Americas, mined by African and Indian slaves, was sold to Asians in return for silk for Europeans. It was the first time that goods and people from every corner of the globe were connected in a single worldwide exchange. Much as Columbus created a new world biologically, Legazpi and the Spanish empire he served created a new world economically.

As Charles C. Mann shows, the Columbian Exchange underlies much of subsequent human history. Presenting the latest research by ecologists, anthropologists, archaeologists, and historians, Mann shows how the creation of this worldwide network of ecological and economic exchange fostered the rise of Europe, devastated imperial China, convulsed Africa, and for two centuries made Mexico City—where Asia, Europe, and the new frontier of the Americas dynamically interacted—the center of the world. In such encounters, he uncovers the germ of today’s fiercest political disputes, from immigration to trade policy to culture wars.

In 1493, Charles Mann gives us an eye-opening scientific interpretation of our past, unequaled in its authority and fascination.

©2011 Charles C. Mann (P)2011 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“Charles Mann expertly shows how the complex, interconnected ecological and economic consequences of the European discovery of the Americas shaped many unexpected aspects of the modern world. This is an example of the best kind of history book: one that changes the way you look at the world, even as it informs and entertains.” (Tom Standage, author of A History of the World in Six Glasses)

“In 1491 Charles Mann brilliantly described the Americas on the eve of Columbus’s voyage. Now in 1493 he tells how the world was changed forever by the movement of foods, metals, plants, people and diseases between the ‘New World’ and both Europe and China. His book is readable and well-written, based on his usual broad research, travels and interviews. A fascinating and important topic, admirably told.” (John Hemming, author of Tree of Rivers)

“In the wake of his groundbreaking book 1491 Charles Mann has once again produced a brilliant and riveting work that will forever change the way we see the world. Mann shows how the ecological collision of Europe and the Americas transformed virtually every aspect of human history. Beautifully written, and packed with startling research, 1493 is a monumental achievement." (David Grann, author of The Lost City of Z)

Enlightening Overview of the New World's Discovery

This is an enlightening overview of the new worlds discovery and the impact that discovery had on the inhabitents of both the new and old world. Very easy to listen to and comprehend in this well told historical narrative.

well researched and written

like his other books, this one delivers a story of history that encompasses cultures, crops, and the movement of civilization over centuries to arrive at the world we know today. of course the author has a point of view and even, an agenda. but the research is a great jumping off point for hundreds of rabbit holes, if you are so inclined to pursue further.
I especially loved how 'racism' emerges as a relatively new concept, stemming from abject ignorance of history. the story of tobacco and silver alone is enough to warrant five stars, and this book has dozens of interwoven threads that form our world today.

also, malaria... corona... just sayin'...

The History of The Spread of All Things

This is a study of the origins of globalism. A story of how people, foods, microbiota, and ideas spread out and change the world environment. The subject of 1493, by Charles C. Mann, and narrated by Robertson Dean provides for interesting considerations and provides unique truths on how the element of globalization come into being and is nurtured as the world turns on its axis. This is a follow-up book to 1491, New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus, a story of the indigenous peoples of the Western Hemisphere. That book read like a cliffhanger, 1493, although subjecting and the very interesting topic does no success as well as an intriguing read. Still, its contents are substantive and if this is your thing, globalization, and you respect understanding its elemental factors this is time well spent.

The Best History Book Ever Written

This Book is an incredible read with the deepest and most controversial yet accurate insight into the history of civilization in the Western Hemisphere and the Colombian Exchange that brought Globalization to the world in the 1490’s

Interesting but not as good as 1491

The central theme is the benefits, and costs, that have accrued from the Colombian Exchange.

The repetition of this theme becomes tedious.

The book also trumpets the long standing theme that the depletion on native populations in the Americas was primarily due to lack of native resistance to European and African diseases which accompanied the ships. This theme has been strongly challenged be Andres Rezendez in The Other Slavery, published in the summer of 2016 (also available on Audible) with a convincing 100 pages of references. If you find 1493 appealing I recommend Rezendez’s book as a credible counterpoint.

Insightful read

I really enjoyed this book. We have a tendency to judge historical figures based on our own historical context and not on the context in which they lived. I think the author helps to make that context apparent without being judgmental of those figures. The narrator gave a great performance. He made it enjoyable to listen. Well done!

Journalistic Genius Behind a Compelling Narrative

What made the experience of listening to 1493 the most enjoyable?

Mann has applied his journalistic skills in the research and development of a comprehensive narrative that a broad seqment of readers will find accessible and enjoyable. Drawing from updated scholarly perspectives in multiple disciplines, Mann highlights events, trends, and reasonable probability to frame the complex global network that has been the foundation of the modern era. If you have any expertise or interest in history, epidemiology, economics, anthropology, agriculture, cultural studies, to name a few, you cannot help but to marvel at the connections that Mann brings into the daylight, many of which have been shamefully neglected or obscured in the writing of 20th Century history books.

What did you like best about this story?

Mann pulls along a basic subtext, which seems to pose the question to anyone who opines for the "good old days" before the introduction of non-native species into domestic ecosystems, global trade, and ethnic migration and integration (basically many of the major political complaints and anti-globalization arguments of the late 20th and early 21st Centuries): how far back would we have to turn the clock to achieve a virgin status for these issues. Of course, the answer is at least 500+ years. More to the point, our preconceived notions of what virgin status even means has been shaped largely by ignorance and national/political interests than anything else. Mann also addresses the issues at about the 500 ft. level of granularity, so that the narrative does not get bogged down by footnotes and citations; nor does it run the risk of being derailed by the inaccuracies of a few details (I am not aware of any).

What does Robertson Dean bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Dean's narrative is laid-back and evenly paced. Pronunciation of specific terms or names may momentarily raise eyebrows. But, then consider that somebody somewhere probably adheres to some of those pronunciations.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

The history of the last 500 years as you've never heard it before.

Fascinating book...read by the best!

What made the experience of listening to 1493 the most enjoyable?

Fascinating material...and you can never go wrong with Robertson Dean.

Any additional comments?

What happened to the audible edition of Mann's prequel, 1491? It appears to no longer be available for sale through audible.com.

I love how this is written

You can tell a lot of thought was invested in the preparation, planning and writing of this book and I love how it turned out.

Real world examples of the butterfly effect.

If you could sum up 1493 in three words, what would they be?

Everything is connected

What was one of the most memorable moments of 1493?

Trying to increase potato harvests was probably the very thing that caused the famine.

Which scene was your favorite?

When most farmers decided to grow tobacco instead of food.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

The day everything changed.

Any additional comments?

Basically this book shows how the smallest changes can lead to world altering consequences. As in accidentally bringing Malaria to the Americas lead to slavery of mainly Africans and why only in the south. It also shows that short term solutions are often the worst option in the long run. It shows how actual events in our past have lead to where we are today and some of the challenges they have left us with. No matter your field there is something in this book that touches on it and will make you look outside your field for factors you make have not considered before.