Christopher Columbus

He said: "Christopher Colombus discovered the sweet potato in the West Indies some time in the 15th century.

However, the groundbreaking map is also politcal as it is the first to name America in honour of the Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci and not Christopher Colombus.

Heath was a writer and producer of the "Mission Impossible" TV series and went on to write several miniseries and telepics during the '80s including "Seventh Avenue," "Valley of the Dolls," "The Memory of Eva Ryker," "Sins," "Christopher Colombus" and "Dazzle."

Still, our driver gave us a bit of an impromptu tour as we travelled through Runaway Bay (where escaped slaves went to begin their exit to Cuba) and Bueno Rios (where Christopher Colombus stopped to refill his water stores during one of his voyages).

Starting at the mightily impressive square Placa de Catalunya in the south, Las Ramblas is a mile-long odyssey of bars, cafes, restaurants, boutiques, churches and galleries which finally ends with the Monument de Colon in the north, the towering statue dedicated to Christopher Colombus.

Founded by Christopher Colombus, it was the first city built in the New World by European settlers and is full of cobble stone streets and grand Spanish colonial architecture.