Which states became the largest colonial empires in the 16th century?

The first colonial empires were Spain, where the Habsburg dynasty ruled, and Portugal, which was in union with it from 1580 to 1640.

The Spanish colonial empire began to be created with the development of the islands of the Caribbean Sea, and in 1519-1522 the Spaniards managed to conquer the first state in the western hemisphere. It was the empire of the Aztecs in the territory of modern Mexico. Later, they began to colonize the lands to the north of it, to California and moved south to Argentina, simultaneously capturing the Inca empire and colonizing the Philippines.

The Portuguese seized less land in Brazil, on the African coast, in India and in Southeast Asia.