Christopher Columbus's discovery of America led to an era of profound changes, not just for the people of Europe and the New World, but for the entire globe.Charles C. Mann
It was not merely pieces of land and people but plants, animals, and diseases that spilled back and forth in what historians have called the 'Columbian Exchange'.Charles C. Mann
Our daily lives today would be unrecognizable to pre-Columbus people.Charles C. Mann
Potatoes, tomatoes, and maize, which are native to the Americas, would become dietary staples throughout the globe.Charles C. Mann
The New World also exported to Europe a suite of devastating diseases.Charles C. Mann
The Columbian Exchange underlies much of subsequent human history.Charles C. Mann
Items that had once seemed so strange and unfamiliar became objects of intense desire and markers of status.Charles C. Mann
The ecological convulsion set in motion by Columbus's accidental landing changed not just the Americas but the entire world.Charles C. Mann
Like the original Weapon of Mass Destruction, the Columbian exchange left nothing untouched.Charles C. Mann
From the outset, the human actors in the drama were conscious that they were living through something new to experience - the start of a new age.Charles C. Mann
Contrary to what many people have thought, Homo sapiens has been shaping the planet for thousands of years.Charles C. Mann
The industrial revolution ... was fueled in part by New World crops.Charles C. Mann
Drawing clear lines between the world's cultural units - particularly the huge, blurry ones called civilizations - is an exercise in oversimplification.Charles C. Mann
In truth, the world is a shimmering tapestry of overlapping, interconnected ecosystems and cultures.Charles C. Mann
The planet's ecology determined which plants, animals, and diseases were where; cookery and farming were human responses to these environmental facts.Charles C. Mann