To go find people that were not afraid to fall off the face of the earth.
Christopher Columbus was an Italian explorer and navigator. The purpose of his first voyage was find a shorter route to Asia, particularly India. Instead of finding Asia, he found the New World.
Spices in Asia.
Christopher Columbus was trying to get to the spice islands (specifically Japan), but since he didn't know of the existence of America, he ended up landing in the West Indies.
Columbus thought that he was in Asia on his first voyage. What he did not know was that he was in America.
asia
to find short route to asia
To look for a water route to Asia.
Portugal did not finance the voyage of Columbus because they knew America stood between Europe and Asia. They were visiting Brazil on a regular basis and knew it was not a part of Asia.
To find Asia and etc.
To look for a water route to Asia.
A water route to Asia.
Christopher Columbus was on a voyage to find a shorter route to Asia for the purpose of trade. Europeans were traveling to Asia by sailing around the southern tip of Africa or overland through Arabia. If he had been successful, it would have allowed Spain to enter into the spice trade with the east, but he seriously underestimated the circumference of the earth. See the link below for more information.