Spain and Portugal were the first European nations that were able to explore the wider Atlantic world. Havin reached Africa, Southeast Asia, the Far East, as well as the New World, the Portuguese and Spanish were able to establish a commercial or colonial presence wherever they could. A main reason that Spain and Portugal were able to conquer so much of the New World was the influence of disease. Disease gave them an advantage of the mass numbers of the New World civilizations. Coerced labor was a direct consequence of the Spanish and the Portuguese colonization in the New World, the Mita system being formed. They also relied on the importation of slaves from Africa. Other European nations, such as France, the Dutch Republic, and England began
