The European Movement to the New World began before Protestantism had made its appearance. In the sixteenth century, Spain and Portugal had the Western Hemisphere largely to themselves, and all religious and missionary effort from those countries was naturally Catholic. Protestant states did not colonize in any substantial way until after 1600. But meanwhile a few sporadic efforts had come from France, where Calvinism had begun to loom as a major religious and political force. French Huguenots played some part in these attempts. Their share in the settlement made by Nicolas Durand de Villegaignon at Rio de Janeiro in 1555 has been noticed by historians, but in general has been misunderstood.