On his fourth voyage to America in 1502,the explorer Christopher Columbus landed in what is now called Nicaragua. He was the first European to discover cacao seeds being used as money,but he did not consider it very significant. It was only later, in the 16th century,that another explorer, Hernando Cortez, saw cacao's value,and brought the drink and the equipment used to make it back to Spain. The Spanish didn't quite take to the bitter taste,and added other ingredients such as sugar and vanilla,so that chocolate more closely resembled the sweet treat we know today.