jan 1, 1492 - Columbus lands in the Americas and the Columbian Exchange begins

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Columbus landed in the Bahamas on San Salvador Island, believed it's Japan, calls everyone Indians because he thought he was in the Indies, and promptly enslaved them. He then went to Cuba, noticed possibility of gold.

What ensued was the Columbian Exchange, the exchange of animals, plants, and diseases.

-Grapes, olives, cattle, sheep, goats, horses→New world.
-Tomatoes, squash, pumpkins, peppers, many types of beans, tobacco, maize→Europe.

Europeans introduced smallpox, measles, and influenza. Overall, at least 90% of the indigenous population died.

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