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The cili padi plant a relative gave had bore fruits! Commonly found here in Malaysia; and since I've seen it growing in the wild, I've thought that it's a native here. Was I surprised then to read that all chilis found around the world today have their origins in Mexico, Central America, and South America and had been spread all over the world by Spanish and Portuguese who had colonized those countries. The chillies in Southeast Asia were brought in the 16th or 17th century. History recorded that the Spanish colonized the Philippines for over 300 years after explorer Ferdinand Magellan came to the islands in 1521 and claimed it as a colony for the Spanish Empire while the Portuguese took control of Malacca for 130 years from 1511to 1641.
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