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Columbus and his crew set sail from Spain in three ships: the Niña, the Pinta and the Santa Maria -
After a two-month voyage, Christopher Columbus landed on an island in the Bahamas he called San Salvador—though the people of the island called it Guanahani. -
The Columbian Exchange refers to the exchange of diseases, ideas, food. crops, and populations between the New World and the Old World following the voyage to the Americas by Christo pher Columbus in 1492. -
Countries such as Spain, France and Portugal colonized the region. Although most of Latin America was colonized by Spain, the countries of Portugal and France also had major influences on the region. -
For the most part, the countries of the Western Hemisphere became independent from Europe in the 50-year period from 1775 to 1825. -
And yet, 300 years later, the Treaty of Paris ended the Spanish-American War, and with it, the Spanish colonial empire died. Cuba was lost, as was the Philippines, Puerto Rico, and Guam. In an attempt to salvage whatever could be saved, Spain sold her remaining Pacific colonies to the newest European power, Germany.