1493

Eight decades after Columbus, a Spaniard named Legazpi succeeded where Columbus had failed. He sailed west to establish a continuous trade with China, then the richest and most powerful country in the world. In Manila, the city founded by Legazpi, silver from the Americas, mined by African and Indian slaves, was sold to Asians in exchange for silk for Europeans. It was the first time that goods and people from all corners of the world were connected in a single global exchange. Just as Columbus created a new world biologically, Legazpi and the Spanish empire he served created a new world economically.In this history Mann uncovers the seeds of today's fiercest political disputes, from immigration to trade policy to culture wars. In 1493, Mann has once again offered readers a revelatory scientific interpretation of our past unparalleled in its authority and fascination. 

ISBN: 9788412953244