Countries Who Tried to Colonize the Americas

Spain’s early explorations of the New World gave that country a great head start over its European rivals. Spanish conquerors defeated mighty empires in Mexico and Peru — the Aztecs and Incas. Both empires had huge caches of gold and silver and sophisticated cultures with built-in labor classes.

All the Spanish had to do was kill the old bosses and become the new bosses, so they didn’t have to import slaves as they had done in the Caribbean. Moreover, the conquests spawned a herd of adelantadaos (or “advancers”), who roamed all over the lower half of America in search of the next big empire.

But Spain’s position of preeminence was short-lived. In 1588, Spanish plans to invade England with an armada of ships blew up when the fleet was scattered by the English navy and a fierce storm. Within 30 years, both England and France had established colonies in the New World.

Eventually, a growing spirit of independence would strip Spain of its New World empire. Early on, it was pretty clear that war-weary Europe would soon be fighting again over the spoils of the New World.

In an effort to head that off — and also find a way to put his mark of authority over matters in the Americas — Pope Alexander VI divided the Americas between Spain and Portugal by drawing a line on the map.