Christopher Columbus set out from Huelva, on Spain's southwest coast, in 1492 in a quest to chart unknown lands with hoped-for riches. With him he brought three ships and a cultural impact that changed the world forever in the space of thirty years. Huelva and its surrounding area reveal a wealth of cultural and historical influences, from Romans through Moors to Spaniards, from technology to disease, through Italians and (perhaps) Portuguese ancestry that Columbus and subsequent would-be conquerors carried with them. They would transform the Americas into a European province.