After the discovery of the New World the Europeans began to establish their hegemony in a new continent. European expansion, colonisation and christianisation of a large number and variety of Amerindian tribes was accompanied by the study and recording of the native languages of the Americas. In the same period, Christian missionary activities escalated in Asia, especially the Far East. The linguistic activities of Spanish and Portuguese missionaries during the colonial period are focussed on. Almost without exception grammars and dictionaries were composed by missionaries for missionaries.