In the book "1493", by Charles Mann, we read about Christopher Columbus and the outcome from his voyages. First chapter of 1493, Mann brings up the Columbian Exchange and the consequences of it. Whether or not Christopher Columbus was a good man, the explorations that he conducted were the beginning of what we now call the Americas. Throughout his journey he encountered substantial consequences that had an impact on why countries are the way they are today. Some of the more recognizable ones that come to mind are the exchange of human beings and their diseases. .
Mann made it evident that, in his opinion, he thought humankind had the most historic impact coming from the Columbian Exchange. After Columbus' first voyage he brought back at least ten captive Taino Indians. The Spaniards made the assumption that there were millions of these "Indians" living on Hispaniola, so the Spanish used this to their advantage and made them their laborers. The Spaniards worked them for around thirty-four years until they came to the realization that there was less than five hundred Taino still alive. The colonist relied only on one source for their labor force, and that was the Taino's. When the Taino's Indians died off, it caused Santo Domingo to go into poverty. Although the Taino does not exist here on earth any more, recent research had found that DNA could possibly be found in Dominicans with African or European features, Mann describes them to be coded legacies of the Columbian Exchange. Without the Columbian Exchange, then life in America would be much different than it is today. Americas might not be quite as diverse as they are today. Because of the Homogenocene Era, America is a mixture of multiple unique cultures and customs. Another way the Columbian Exchange impacted the New World is the production of different crops not indigenous to their locations, which flourished and improved nations.
