1400s: During the fifteenth century, the Portuguese and Spanish constructed specialized ships and utilized improved navigational instruments like the compass…

1400s: During the fifteenth century, the Portuguese and Spanish constructed specialized ships and utilized improved navigational instruments like the compass to navigate Atlantic currents and wind systems. This technological “breakout” allowed them to reach and settle Atlantic islands such as the Madeiras, Canaries, and Cape Verdes. Italian merchants collaborated with Iberian colonizers to extend the system of sugarcane grown by enslaved people to these islands, creating a precursor to the plantation model of the Americas. This expansion effectively breached the natural forces that had previously isolated the Western Hemisphere from Eurasian and African influences.