1493 (2011) (edit title/settings)

Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit see section history

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People edit see section history

• Cristobal Colon: AKA Christopher Columbus--the book explains the myriad ways in which his actions permanently changed the world.
• Chief Powhatan: Ruler of the lands the Jamestown Colony was founded in.
• John Smith: Influential early colonist at Jamestown.
• Opechancanough: Powhatan's anti-immigrant younger brother.
• Pocahontas: Young daughter of Powhatan.
• John Rolfe: Responsible for cultivation of tobacco in Virginia, making it much more affordable for consumers in England.
• Zheng He: Chinese commander in charge of their armadas during the Yongle period.
• Zhu Wan: Chinese official who tried to fight piracy in Yuegang.
• Zheng Chenggong: Chinese "pirate king".
• Francis Drake: Influential explorer and raider.
• Antoine-Augustin Parmentier: Nutritional chemist whom Mann calls the "Johnny Appleseed" of potatoes.
• Charles Goodyear: Rubber pioneer later remembered as a "visionary."
• Thomas Hancock: Engineer who patented vulcanization process to make rubber usable for industrial purposes.
• Carlos Fitzcarrald: Used weapons and violence to force Indians to harvest rubber for him.
• Julio Cesar Arana: Enslaved large numbers of indigenous people in a brutal rubber collection operation.
• Walter Hardenburg: Drew public attention to Arana's reign of terror and helped to end it.
• Henry Wickham: "Bio-pirate" who smuggled thousands of rubber tree seeds out of Brazil.
• Juan Garrido: Black conquistador who built the Chapel of the Martyrs in what is now Mexico City.
• Henry Ford: Tried unsuccessfully to found a rubber plantation ("Fordlandia") in the Amazonian rainforest.
• Matthew Fontaine Maury: Wanted U.S. to annex Amazonia to strengthen the political power of the South.
• Hernan Cortes: Spanish conqueror of Mexico.
• Esteban de Dorantes: Slave who was a part of the unsuccessful Narvaez expedition.
• Catarina de San Juan: Asian slave taken to Mexico, where she became a famous mystic.
• Zumbi: Leader of Palmares, a settlement of African refugees in Brazil.
• Jorge Velho: Brazilian who led the attacks against Palmares that eventually led to Zumbi's death.
• Vasco Nunez De Balboa: Spanish conquistador known for crossing Panama and becoming the first European to see the Pacific Ocean from the Americas.
• Bayano: Led a large slave revolt in 16th century Panama.

Setting & Locations edit see section history

• La Isabela: Spanish community on Hispaniola which Mann identifies as "the beginning of consequential European settlement" in the Americas.
• Jamestown: English colony founded by the Virginia Company that led to settlers drastically changing the surrounding landscape.
• Beijing: Beijing's need for silver to create currency caused China to become less resistant to trade with Europeans.
• Yuegang: Center of piracy in 16th century China.
• Potosi: The Bolivian silver mines here were inhumane but crucial for the silver trade.
• Manila: Spanish and Chinese residents of Manila clashed several times during the 16th and 17th centuries--Chinese residents had to live in a separate neighborhood outside the city gates.
• Zuitou: Example of a place where cultivation of American crops has contributed to ecological disaster.
• Peru: Site of guano stores exported during the 19th century.
• Ireland: Both its reliance on the potato and the blight that caused the Great Famine were direct results of the Columbian Exchange.
• China
• New Spain
• Mexico City
• Brazil
• United States
• Hispaniola
• Pacific
• Panama
• France
• England
• Madeira
• Portugal
• Caribbean
• Britain
• London
• Suriname
• Santo Domingo
• Laos
• Zaytun
• Lima
• Sao Tome
• Netherlands
• Japan
• Florida
• Calabar
• India
• Andes
• Columbus
• Mindoro
• Haiti
• Ecuador
• Puebla
• South America
• North America
• Veracruz

Organizations edit see section history

• The Virginia Company: Joint stock company formed to create English colonies in the Americas.

First Sentence edit see section history

Table of Contents edit see section history

Series & Lists edit see section history

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

1. Charles C. Mann (Author)

First Edition edit see section history

Classification edit see section history

• Library of Congress: D228.M36 2011
• Dewey: 909.4

Subjects edit see section history

• Books › History › Americas › United States › Colonial Period
• Books › Science › History & Philosophy
• Books › History › World