Spain and Portugal were the first great maritime powers to start colonizing lands thousands of miles away, but they were followed not long afterward by the English, French, and Dutch, among others. The establishment of these far-flung dominions profoundly changed the nature of global commerce, and it shattered and redrew age-old power structures on every continent in the world. It brought unimaginable wealth and prosperity to some individuals and realms, and foisted hellish misery, slavery, and evil on others.
