Portuguese colonization of the Americas Portuguese colonization of the Americas Portugal was the leading country in the European exploration of the world in the 15th century. The Treaty of Tordesillas in 1494 divided the Earth outside Europe into Castilian and Portuguese global territorial hemispheres for exclusive conquest and colonization. Portugal colonized parts of South America (mostly Brazil), but also made some unsuccessful attempts to colonize North America in present-day Canada. Based on the terms of the Treaty of Tordesillas, the Portuguese Crown claimed it had territorial rights in the area visited by the Genoese explorer John Cabot in 1497 and 1498 on behalf of the
Women in the Americas a profound effect on women in the Americas over time. The Society for the History of Women in the Americas (SHAW), is a British organization that studies women's history in context of their connection to the Americas. Studying women's history allows for the restoration of lost information about how women lived, worked and participated in their cultures. Looking at women's history through the lens of a shared geography and culture allows useful comparisons of women's lives in the Americas without nationalism clouding the narrative. Women in the Americas or the women who now populate what is known as North America,