in the 18 and 19 c spain and portugal were the leaders in the voyages of explorations and discoveries

cuban communists pressured the soviet union to place missiles in cuba.

the monroe doctrine is the best known u.s. policy toward the western hemisphere. buried in a routine annual message delivered to congress by president james monroe in december 1823, the doctrine warns european nations that the united states would not tolerate further colonization or puppet monarchs.