Answer:
A. France, Portugal, and Spain
Step-by-step explanation:
The Spanish
The Spanish were the first Europeans to claim land in the New World. Christopher Columbus claimed the New World for Spain in 1492. Many Spanish explorers soon followed his lead.
These Spanish explorers were called conquistadors. They came to the New World in search of riches. Most were soldiers, priests, and other single men without families. The priests wanted to convert American Indians to Christianity. Other conquistadors sought gold, silver, and other precious metals.
In 1565, Spanish admiral Pedro Menéndez de Avilés founded the city of St. Augustine, Florida. St. Augustine was the first permanent Spanish settlement in the United States. The city served as a fortress for soldiers and a mission for priests. Many American Indians became Spanish subjects and converted to Catholicism.
By 1700, the Spanish explorers had conquered major parts of America. These regions included all of Mexico, Florida, and much of the American Southwest and California. Later, the Spanish Empire extended over Central America and Cuba.
Around this time, internal issues weakened the Spanish Empire. Spain became reluctant to expand farther into North America. Spain’s decline left France and England as the two great European powers competing for control of North America.
The French
Like the Spanish, the French came to America to seek wealth and to spread Christianity. The French gained their riches in the fur trade. Beaver, bear, otter, bison, and other animal pelts were valuable in Europe. As with the Spanish, most of the French who came to North America were single men—soldiers, trappers, or priests.
The French claimed huge areas of land and founded several settlements, including Quebec in 1608 and Montreal in 1642. They established Detroit in 1701 and New Orleans in 1718. These settlements served as trading posts and few people lived there. In 1700, the entire French population of North America was only about 15,000.