There are three waves of European colonialism. The two main countries in the first wave of European colonialism were Spain and Portugal which were responsible for colonizing South America and the Caribbean through the Treaty of Tordesillas in 1494. This treaty was responsible for dividing up the land among Spain and Portugal. The expansion achieved by Spain and Portugal caught the attention of Britain, France and the Netherlands. The entrance of these three empires in the Caribbean and North America perpetuated European colonialism in these regions.