I was sure the *alzamiento de bienes* was illegal since time immemorial, and just checked the Siete Partidas, a massive legal code from the 13th century, where such a thing can be found in Partida V, title XV, law VII:

How if a debtor alienates his goods in damage of those to whom he owed something, may that alienation be revoked.

Here in Spain that action would be a crime called alzamiento de bienes (literally "uplift of goods") which is more or less conceptually equivalent to asset stripping.

Alzamiento de bienes is defined as the intentional hiding of property or assets, or intentional mismanagement, in order to obstruct creditors from being paid.

How in the fuck is that even legal?

Spoiler alert: Prices won't get lower.

Supermarkets and shops will keep the prices as they are, pocketing the difference. We have already seen something like this, when the VAT for cultural spectacles (theatre, cinema) got reduced and prices didn't move a bit.

Columbus, like any good sailor or merchant at that day and age, could communicate in every language, but didn't speak any language well. Though there is no proof, it is a perfectly safe guess to assume he was fairly acquainted with "sabir".