The correct answer is option 1, Christopher Columbus. Christopher Columbus was an Italian explorer who is often credited with discovering the Americas. During his fourth and final voyage in 1502, Columbus encountered the cacao plant in what is now the country of Honduras. The cacao plant is native to the region and has been cultivated by indigenous civilizations for thousands of years. Columbus and his crew observed the indigenous people using the cacao beans to make a bitter drink, which they called "chocolatl." They brought some cacao beans back to Europe, where the tradition of drinking chocolate eventually spread throughout the continent. Therefore, Christopher Columbus can be considered as the first European to encounter the cacao plant and introduce it to the rest of the world, laying the foundation for the creation of chocolate as we know it today.