MAP ACTIVITY

MAP 2.3 Sixteenth-Century European Colonies in the New World Spanish control spread throughout Central and South America during the sixteenth century, with the important exception of Portuguese Brazil. North America, though claimed by Spain under the Treaty of Tordesillas, remained peripheral to Spain’s New World empire.

READING THE MAP: Track Spain’s efforts at colonization by date. How did political holdings, the physical layout of the land, and natural resources influence where Spaniards directed their energies?

CONNECTIONS: What was the purpose of the Treaty of Tordesillas? How might the location of silver and gold mines have affected Spain’s desire to assert its claims over regions still held by Portugal after 1494, and Spain’s interest in California, New Mexico, and Florida?