Why did Spain and Portugal want to find new routes to Asia?

Answer 1

The main factor was to find a shorter hence more economical trade route to East, the Indies, China, etc.

A shorter route than rounding Africa which was the only one known at the time.

Also a different trade route could find other locales and countries suitable for commerce while also offering better security from attack.

Answer 2

They wanted a better way to get spices and other trade stuff at better costs. At the time, the cost was too high to go through the land in the Middle East...

Answer 3

They were looking for alternate routes to bring spices and other profitable commodities for sale to Europe, which were found in central and Eastern Asia. At the time, all land routes had to pass through either the Russian Empire or the Turkish Empire, which were hostile to European interests. Sea routes going around Africa and India were quite dangerous due to treacherous waters and high levels of piracy.

At the time, Europeans already knew the Earth was round, so the logical way to reach Asia was to sail west of the Atlantic, to eventually find Japan and the East Indies. What the European explorers didn't know was that a whole continent was in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.

Answer 4

Portugal and Spain pursued sea exploration because all of the land routes were controlled by the Ottomans. The Portuguese and Spanish did not want to deal with the Ottomans on account of the numerous wars that they had fought with the Ottoman Empire and its ally Morocco. They also did not want the Ottomans to serve as middle-man brokers in order to make money off of Portuguese and Spanish trade.

Answer 5

They wanted to find a faster, less expansive, route.

Answer 6

They searched for new ways to increase their wealth.

Answer 7

They wanted to find a faster way to arrive at Asia.

Answer 8

They hoped to establish sea routes to the Indies to make profits from trade.