1. Columbus was the first explorer they sponsored.
They discovered the Mississippi River, San Salvador, and the Pacific Ocean.
They started the settlement on the island of Hispaniola.
The Spanish were the first to sponsor expeditions in order to get to the Orient by going in western direction. This resulted in the discovery of two new continents though, not in finding the way to the Orient. Columbus was the first explorer to reach the Americas, and after him, lot of others came as well. Spain used its early presence in the Americas and it quickly conquered lot of territory in South, Central, and North America. The Spanish were the first to discover the ocean that was unknown until then, the largest in the world, the Pacific ocean. All these new conquests of Spain made it a global power, and its influence in the Americas can be seen very easily nowadays from the southwestern part of the US to the southernmost tip of South America.
2. Da Gama sailed around Africa to India.
It grew in wealth and importance from its all-water route to the Orient.
They opened the only all-water route to the Orient.
The Portuguese were not a country that was not a big military power compared to the other European nations, but it was a big power when it came to explorations via water. The Portuguese were trying to gain in wealth what they couldn't in military power, and for some were very successful. They were the first to discover an all water route from Europe to the Orient, which was circling Africa and through the Indian Ocean was reaching the Orient. This gave them a big advantage when it came to trade of the valuable goods from the East. Also, the Portuguese were one of the first people from Europe to reach the Americas, and they managed to conquer enormous territory in South America, what is now modern day Brazil.
