How Did Spain Change Throughout The 16th To The 18th Century

Throughout the 16th to the 18th century, multiple European countries rose to power, but also lost that rule entirely. In the early 16th century two of the strongest nations were Spain and Portugal. After Columbus found his way to the New World, a great amount of land was up for grabs amongst the rest of the countries. To settle down the taking of new land, Spain and Portugal wrote up an agreement called the Treaty of Tordesillas. This treaty, written in 1494, declared that the newly found lands west of the “imaginary line” in the Atlantic Ocean would belong to Spain and everything to the east would be claimed as Portugal’s. After this treaty was established, exploration took off to a new level. Spain’s goals of exploration can be simplified