Nevertheless, Spain was in competition with Portugal, who also seemed for additional settlement and gold, in order to gain the ultimate advantage: power. Even though Spain conquered the majority of both North and South America, Portugal was successful in claiming the east of South America. To explain, in the 1540s, Pedro Cabral, commander of a large fleet, was supposed to sail to India during the second Portuguese voyage; unfortunately, sailed too far west and arrived in the east coast of Brazil. By the 1600s, the colony had approximately twenty-five thousand European residents, and offered Portugal some control in the spice trade due to the strategic trade routes (485 -
