4.2.exploration causation and events a2 APH

This document discusses the exploration and colonization efforts of Portugal, Spain, and other European powers in the 15th-16th centuries. It mentions Portugal initially leading European exploration by sailing around Africa, while Spain explored westward across the Atlantic. It then focuses on Spanish conquests in the Americas led by figures like Christopher Columbus, Hernan Cortes, and Francisco Pizarro who established empires in Mexico and Peru at the expense of indigenous groups like the Aztecs and Incas. The document also references the Treaty of Tordesillas which divided colonial rights between Portugal and Spain.