Asia.
They wanted a route to Asia. The Silk Road was long, expensive, and dangerous.
Many Europeans in the 1400s wanted to find a way to get to East Asia primarily to access valuable spices, such as pepper, cinnamon, and cloves, which were in high demand in Europe for culinary and medicinal purposes. Additionally, there was a desire to establish direct trade routes with Asian markets to bypass the expensive intermediaries in the existing trade networks. The pursuit of new trade routes to Asia was also driven by the desire for wealth, prestige, and the spread of Christianity.
They didn't look for a new world. They stumbled upon it. They were looking for new trade routes to the known world.
Italian murchants made huge profits by trading Asian goods. Italians used military strength to control the trade on the mediterranean and didn't allow other Europeans to take part in it. Merchants and other Europeans envied the profits made by Italian merchants, and found new routs to Asia. Sources: Creating America book and My Great Brain ;)
Europeans began looking for new sea routes to Asia.
Asia.
New trade routes to Asia
Europeans began looking for new sea routes to Asia.
Europeans began looking for new sea routes to Asia.
maps, diaries and new ships
They wanted a route to Asia. The Silk Road was long, expensive, and dangerous.
To find a route to Asia.
Ottoman taxes and restrictions on trade in its territory encouraged Europeans to seek new trade routes to Asia.
to more stuff for the europeans
Europeans sought new trade routes in the 1400s primarily to Asia, Africa, and the Americas. Explorers like Christopher Columbus, Vasco da Gama, and Ferdinand Magellan were seeking direct routes to these continents in order to access valuable goods like spices, silk, and gold.
European explorers searched for new trade routes to bypass the Ottoman Empire's control over existing land trade routes, to access valuable goods like spices and silk directly from Asia, and to find new sources of wealth and power. Additionally, they were motivated by competition among European nations to establish colonies and control trade routes.