In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue. Any elementary school student can tell you that. But Charles C. Mann’s books “1491” and “1493” will broaden anyone’s perspective on Columbus’s impact on the Americas, discussing the Americas before Columbus and the Americas after Columbus. Mann gave a lecture at UNCW this past week explaining the aftermath of Columbus’s voyage across the great Atlantic.

 

The night was off to a rocky start when the rescheduled event had to be held in a less than desirable location. Community members, faculty, staff and students alike were crammed into the Dobo Hall auditorium. There was not a seat to be had or a bit of fresh oxygen to be wasted. The aisles were filled with restless students who had politely and reluctantly given up their seats for the older members of the audience to sit in.

 

Mann began the lecture, but was interrupted immediately by an insistent gray-haired woman who could not hear what he was saying. Microphones were acquired and adjusted to appease the older crowd and Mann had another false start. This time he was stopped due to the lights flickering on and off while his PowerPoint was loading. Some in the audience complained of too much lighting, while others complained of too little. In the end, the lights were completely turned off, and it’s a good thing because what the room didn’t need was extra heat beating down from the fluorescent ceiling.

 

Mann was a good sport throughout, and was finally able to begin his lecture. Despite the uncomfortable and unfavorable conditions, Mann had some interesting material to present. He started out by discussing how Columbus carried everything from creatures and plants to disease and sickness from one side of the world – the old world – to the new world and from the new world back to the old world again. This was the Columbian Exchange – the crossing of organisms from one side of the Atlantic Ocean to the other.

 

“This represents why Columbus is an important figure to biologists as well as historians. What he did was effectively end the long separation of the continents – he recreated Pangaea – he brought the world together and the result was an ecological convulsion. This was the biggest event in the history of life since the death of the dinosaurs, and one that had an enormous impact on human history,” said Mann.

 

Even though the content matter was not hugely fascinating, Mann had a way of slipping a joke or two into his presentation and the audience chuckled appreciatively. Mann went on to explain his disappointment in the education he received from his middle school regarding Columbus, and then pointed out the vast impacts that Columbus’s four trips had on the world.

 

“From the first 150 years after Columbus, this enormous wave of disease came over to the Americas and the result is somewhere between two-thirds and 90 percent of the original inhabitants of the Americas died. It was the greatest demographic catastrophe in human history. And I would argue it’s probably the most important thing that you should know about American history in the last 500 years,” said Mann.

 

By the time Mann’s lecture was coming to a close, the air in the auditorium was sweet with the smell of perspiration. Half the people in attendance flooded out without staying for the question and answer session simply to get some fresh air.