Where did pineapples originate?

Indigenous peoples spread and cultivated pineapples across South and Central America and the Caribbean long before Europeans arrived. Christopher Columbus encountered them on the island of Guadeloupe in 1493 and brought them back to Spain. They became a luxury status symbol in Europe, where they were grown in heated greenhouses and sometimes rented for display at parties. Pineapples reached Hawaii in the 19th century, and James Dole's company made Hawaii famous for canned pineapples in the 20th century. Today the leading producers include Costa Rica, the Philippines, Indonesia and Brazil.