USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -Since then, the Cape Route has been in use. Christopher Columbus sought to find a westward sea route to India, but instead found the way to the Americas. These expeditions marked the beginning of the Age of Discovery, in which European explorers charted the world’s oceans.

Detailed explanation-2: -In August 1492, Columbus sailed west with his now famous ships, Niña, Pinta and Santa María. After ten weeks he sighted an island in the Bahamas, which he named San Salvador.

Detailed explanation-3: -Along with the idea of looking for new trade routes, they also hoped to find new sources of gold, silver, and other valuables. Additionally, Europeans saw exploration as a way to bring Christianity to other cultures that lived in other lands.

Detailed explanation-4: -First, European countries were seeking new trade routes to distant trading partners in the Far East, including: China, India and Japan. European countries had traditionally traded with these countries through the Silk Road. The Silk Road was mostly over land and took merchants a great deal of time to ship goods.

Detailed explanation-5: -Europeans wanted the power and resulting wealth that would come from controlling trade. Finding all-water routes to Asia and its riches would allow European merchants to cut out Middle Eastern middlemen and reap all the profits of eastern trade. Some Europeans were also eager to spread Christianity to nonbelievers.