Causes and Consequences of Exploration, Immigration, Settlement Patterns, and Growth

Brazil—Portugal

After Columbus claimed the West Indies for Spain in 1492, a papal bull decreed that lands discovered 100 leagues west of the Cape Verde Islands should belong to Spain, while lands discovered east of that demarcation would belong to Portugal. This delimitation angered Portugal. In 1494, the two countries signed the Treaty of Tordesillas, which set the demarcation 270 leagues farther to the west. This effectively gave control of Brazil and the Indian Ocean to Portugal, and in 1500, Pedro Álvares Cabral discovered and claimed Brazil for Portugal. Spain went on to claim South American territories west of the line.

The Philippines—Spain

In March 1521, Ferdinand Magellan reached the Philippines and claimed the islands for Spain. A little over a month later, he was killed in a local conflict, while the crew he had captained sailed on to make the first successful circumnavigation of the globe. The first permanent Spanish settlement in the Philippines was established in 1565, giving Spain access to China and Japan, as well a share in spice production and trade. Spanish rule of the Philippines lasted 333 years, until the conclusion of the Spanish-American War in 1898, when Spain ceded control of the islands to the United States.

New France—France

In 1497, John Cabot and his crew, who had been authorized to sail by the British crown, may have been the first Europeans to see northeastern coast of North America since the Norse presence around 1000 CE. In 1534, Jacques Cartier reached the Gulf of St. Lawrence and claimed the surrounding land for France. This territory became known as New France. Returning in 1535, Cartier sailed up the St. Lawrence River to a location that became the city of Québec. In 1608, Samuel de Champlain established a trading base at Québec. From here, he continued to make inland expeditions, reaching Lake Huron in the Great Lakes and expanding New France's territories. Although France ceded Canada to Britain at the end of the Seven Year's War in 1763, France's New World colonial presence lasted till the early 19th century, when the United States made the Louisiana Purchase.