Columbus first got to the Caribbean Islands, also called West Indies, and extended the Spanish influence there. The land and the warm weather made them the ideal place to grow several crops and export them to Europe. First they planned to grow tobacco and cotton but actually sugar became the best option since they had large portions of land, especially near the coast which helped sugar growth. Since sugar plantations are bigger and require more land and more workers, they were very plentiful. They were such a success that they had to get more workers for them and thus, slave trade began.