200 Escudos of Portugal 1992 CuNi UNC - Discovery of America in 1492

In 1492, Christopher Columbus, under the sponsorship of the Spanish monarchs, set out to find a new route to the Indies and landed in the Caribbean islands, mistakenly believing he had reached Asia. This "discovery" marked the beginning of European colonization in the Americas, leading to the destruction of indigenous civilizations such as the Aztecs and the Incas, the African slave trade, and the large-scale exploitation of local resources. This contact between Europe and the New World dramatically altered global dynamics, despite the fact that indigenous peoples had lived on the continent for millennia.