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Did Columbus make any important discoveries in the Americas?

Although Christopher Columbus (1451–1506) did not take vast amounts of gold back to Spain after his voyages to the Americas (1492, 1493, 1498), he did return with a variety of previously unknown plants. These included maize (corn), sweet potatoes, capsicums (peppers), plantains (bananas), and pineapples. On later voyages other explorers discovered potatoes, wild rice, winter squash, pumpkins, cacao (chocolate beans), peanuts, cashews, and tobacco. Many of these plants continue to be cultivated in Spain.

Further Information: Lacey, Richard W. Hard to Swallow: A Brief History of Food. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1994; Olson, James S., ed. Historical Dictionary of the Spanish Empire: 1402–1975. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood, 1991.

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1. The Americas
   1. When and how did the first people migrate to the Western Hemisphere?
   2. Were the Vikings the first Europeans to reach North America?
   3. Were the Spaniards the first Europeans to reach North America after the Vikings?
   4. When was the first authenticated European landing in North America?
   5. Why did Spain authorize Columbus to search for a westward route to the Indies?
   6. Where did Columbus first land in the New World?
   7. Did Columbus make any important discoveries in the Americas?
   8. Why does controversy surround Christopher Columbus?
   9. Who were the conquistadors?
   10. What contributions did the Europeans make to the Americas?
   11. How did America get its name?
   12. How was Hernán Cortés able to claim Mexico for the Spaniards?
   13. Who was Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca?
   14. Who was Montezuma?
   15. What were the Seven Cities of Cibola?
   16. Who were the first Europeans to explore the Mississippi River?
   17. What were the Spanish holdings in the New World?
   18. What were the French holdings in the New World?
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   21. What was the Lost Colony?
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   24. What was the goal of the Lewis and Clark expedition?
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   2. Who discovered the southwest passage to the Orient?
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   4. What caused more Irish people to emigrate to the United States in the mid-1800s?
   5. When did major waves of immigration to the United States occur?
   6. How many immigrants arrived at Ellis Island, and what did they experience there?
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   2. When did aviator Amelia Earhart disappear?
   3. When did the space age begin?
   4. Who was the first person to travel in space?
   5. Who was the first man to walk on the Moon?
   6. Who was the first woman in space?
   7. What was the first animal sent into space?
   8. What was the impact of the Challenger disaster on the U.S. space program?
   9. Why was the Mars Pathfinder project important?
   10. What new discoveries have been made by the Hubble Space Telescope?

1. Christopher Columbus