The fifteenth century saw the rise of the colonial powers, Spain, Portugal, England, the Dutch and France. What is common to them? They are all on the Atlantic, which is a rough ocean. Sailing across it required strong and large ships, powered by sails made of high quality fabric. Only the nations on its coast developed this expertise. Because the ships were large, they were able to carry many powerful and heavy cannon. This is why these nations were able to sail across and colonise the Americas and why Germany, Russia, Italy and other major European nations, which are not on the Atlantic, did not become big colonial powers.