Would North America be what it is today without Columbus?

No, i doubt it.

Explanation:

Christopher Columbus was a Italian navigator,and sailed across the sea hoping to find a direct route on the water from Europe to Asia,but instead,he found america.If he had found the water route instead ,then america probably wouldn't have been found until later,which means that the things that happened that are our history,might not have happened.

napoleon the third became a empire in 1873 also known as the era of the franco-prussian war.