... long as a galley," and was filled with local goods for trade -- including cacao beans. Columbus had his crew seize the vessel and its goods, and retained its skipper as his guide Later, Columbus' son Ferdinand wrote about the encounter. He was struck by how much value the Native Americans placed on cacao beans, What Ferdinand and the other members of Columbus ... as currency as recently as the last century. While it is likely that Columbus brought the cacao beans he seized back to Europe, the Spanish King and his court initially overlooked their value. Twenty years later, however, Spani...

• Word Count: 1083
• Approx Pages: 4
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School