New World

The New World refers to North and South America, the islands of the Caribbean Sea, and several islands in the eastern Pacific Ocean.

The New World was first made known to Europeans when Spanish admiral Christopher Columbus happened upon it while sailing west in an attempt to discover a nautical trade route to India. He claimed the New World for Spain. Within a century, Spanish King Philip II had made Spain the dominant colonial power in the New World.

The tobacco plant is native to the New World.