Final answer:
The first European nation to begin exploring the Atlantic Ocean was Portugal, not Spain. Spain did however play a significant role in the Age of Discovery, notably after the Portuguese initiated the age of Atlantic exploration. Additionally, the Spanish Reconquista was indeed a military and religious campaign.
Step-by-step explanation:
The statement that Spain was the first European nation to begin exploring the Atlantic Ocean is false. While Spain and Portugal both were pivotal in the European Age of Discovery, it was Portugal that initiated the era of Atlantic exploration. Portuguese colonization of Atlantic islands began in the 1400s, marking the start of European expansion across the Atlantic. In the early 15th century, Portugal, under the leadership of Prince Henry the Navigator, was the first European kingdom to sponsor long-range maritime voyages of exploration paving the way for the age of exploration. These voyages along the African coast eventually led to the reaching of the Americas.
It is true that for the Spanish, reconquering the Iberian Peninsula was both a military and religious action, known as the Reconquista. This long period of reconquest against Muslim rule on the Iberian Peninsula extended from the 8th to the 15th century, culminating in 1492 with the fall of Granada.