The document discusses the creation of a new Atlantic world through European colonization of the Americas beginning in the 15th century. Key European powers like Portugal, Spain, France, England, and the Netherlands established colonies and fought for territory and resources. They developed systems of governance including standing armies, royal bureaucracies, merchant alliances, and economic policies like mercantilism to administer and profit from their American holdings. This led to the rise of new monarchies and a European state system across both sides of the Atlantic.