jan 1, 1492 - Columbus sails the ocean blue

Description:

- Spain begins colonization of new world
- Columbian Exchange begins: new world trades corn, potatoes, tobacco, and rubber while the old world rades livestock, smallpox, influenze, and coffee
- hacienda and encomienda system, and a race-based caste system
- leads to the death of millions of Native Americas due to influx of diseases they are not immune to

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