Spain was able to claim land by exploring and defeating any resistance from the indigenous tribes. Additionally, by being located on the Iberian Peninsula, they were in the ideal location to launch an invasion of the Americas.
Well Spain and Britain are large ones
It is necessary to have a strong military force with a large empire.
A large empire was very important for trade and also for prestige. The power of a country was judged by the size of it's empire.
Mestizo
In the early years of exploring the New World, Spain made a large effort to explore and claim land for the Spanish Crown. They ventured into Mexico, the Southwest of the North American Continent and established the first city, St. Augustine in Florida. They also traveled to what is now Georgia to search for gold. They also made headway into South America, conquering the Inca Empire.
Spain, Great Britain, France, and Portugal all had major empires. The Netherlands, Sweden, and Denmark were minor players.
The 1542 new laws from Spain, which were issued by the Spanish King, Charles 1 was meant for Spain's colonies in the Americas. The laws were meant to protect Americas' indigenous people from large landowners' exploitation.
Spain was able to establish colonies in large areas of both continents.
Well Spain and Britain are large ones
Spain succeeded in conquering so much of the Americas because they used their religion as a main belief, the spread of European diseases weakened the Americas conquests, the Spanish soldiers and sailors had excellent fighting skills and used advanced weapons on the Native American armies, and lastly, Spain made alliances with the Native Americans, the enemies of the Incas and Aztecs.They also had some of the newest sea fairing technology available and hired Portuguese pilots with maps. The motivation was also there to find gold and riches for the crown as well as a water route to Asia.
What weakened the Roman Empire were weak emperors, invasions by outsiders, diseases, and a number of other factors.
Analogously speaking (comparing something with the same general features); China could be considered the Oriental (Eastern) version of the Occident's (Western) Spain. Spain at one time owned vast tracts of the Americas to include many of the islands surrounding the Americas (North, Central, and South Americas)...and although Spain owned (or colonized) those lands until 1898 (when Spain's empire was no more), Spain rarely exhibited the military prowess as did Britain or France. Although China didn't colonize lands as did Spain, China remained large in territory thru-out it's history; but like Spain, China never really exhibited a military prowess like it's neighbors Russia and Japan. Therefore..."had China conducted any colonizing; it would most likely have lost them as Spain actually did."
the answer is Francisco Vasquez de Coronado
Politically, it was part of the Spanish Empire and as such, it was administered by a viceroy. Financially, it was the most successful territory of Spain, contributing a large percentage of the empire's income; the modern equivalent would be the economic contribution of California and Texas to the United States; losing such economies would be considered a great disaster, if not resulting into the dissolution of the union. In the case of Spain, Mexico was one of the first colonies to fight for its independence, in 1810; by 1830 most Spanish holdings in the Americas were independent .
Spanish conquistador Hernando Cortez conquered the Aztec civilization that occupied what is now Mexico. This conquest yielded for Spain a large piece of territory in the New World, and gave Spain access to large quantities of gold and silver. Cortez helped Spain get a jump on other European nations that would soon be in North America.
It was the second largest empire ever. At one time it stretched from Spain to China, Northern Russia to Africa, and all inbetween.
The Iberian Peninsula is one of the three major European peninsulas and is located in the southwestern corner of Europe. It includes the countries of Portugal, Spain, and Andorra. Over history, Spain has mainly held control over the entire peninsula. When it did, Spain was the most powerful country in the world. It was the leader in European exploration to the Americas, which is why Spain controlled the largest amount of land in the Americas. The country also had an empire in Europe that included parts of Italy, France, Belgium, and the Netherlands. Spain was also a minor player in the Imperialism of Africa and Asia, in which it contained several colonies. Spain was also in cooperation with other countries in Europe during several centuries, as the rulers of Spain were members of the Habsburg Family, which was a royal family that included monarchs all over Europe. Spain also issued the Spanish Inquisition, which "cured" the Iberian Peninsula of non-Christians. Lastly, because of all these reasons (Spain being so powerful, influential, and owning a large empire), Spain was a very rich country. Spain was important to the economy of Europe and traded all over the world, making it an ideal country to trade with.