ENVIR ST 139 Chapter Notes - Chapter C. Mann: Anthropocene, Hubris, Yellow Fever
12 Sep 2016
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Week 2 reading: c. mann"s 1493: uncovering the new world. Mann starts by referencing the homogenocene, our current geological epoch, in which biodiversity is diminishing and ecosystems around the globe become more similar one to another. Premise of this reading in a thought experiment: flying around the world in a plane and witnessing how humans are living in 1642 (150 years after christopher columbus first voyage) Mainly, a world driven by the silver trade. Then, it was a rapidly growing mining town that used indigenous slave labor (with harsh working conditions) to mine and extract silver into metal bars or coins (stamped in the. From lima, peru, the silver would be moved all over the world. North of potosi are the andean slopes, where human civilizations used to exist and thrive but now remain empty and abandoned, due to european diseases and europeans that killed off many indigenous people in the region.
