Which countries in western europe first sent explorers and colonists to america?

Excluding the Vikings from Scandinavia and Iceland, the first Europeans to settle in the Americas were the Spanish and the Portuguese. Columbus arrived in the islands off North America in 1492, and he and others established colonies for Spain in the West Indies. Portugal, having established an easterly trade route around Africa, also became interested in the New World, establishing a colony in Brazil in 1500.