The Age of Discovery, or the Age of Exploration, is an informal and loosely defined term for the early modern period approximately from the 15th century to the 18th century in European history, in which seafaring Europeans explored regions across the globe, most of which were already inhabited. The extensive overseas exploration, led by the Portuguese and the Spanish, emerged as a powerful factor in European culture, most notably the European encounter and colonization in the Americas.
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country located on the Iberian Peninsula, in south-western Europe. It is the westernmost sovereign state in mainland Europe, bordered to the west and south by the Atlantic Ocean and to the north and east by Spain, the sole country to have a land border with Portugal.