There are two reasons for this. First, Europeans wanted to go to India because India was a major trade hub for spices, silks, and ivory--things that brought a hefty price at market in Europe. Marco Polo started this in the thirteenth century when he wrote a travelogue about the Silk Road. The second thing that we should examine is why Europeans needed a sea route to India. By 1500, the Ottoman Turks had taken control of the land route to India. Constantinople fell in 1453 and Turkish forces were waging war in the Balkans. While the Turks would let trade caravans through, they had to pay heavy fees. Also, robbers from Muslim armies and Christian deserters would raid the caravans. The sea route was supposed to be shorter according to the ancient Greeks, and one would bypass the deserts and mountains along the Silk Road that would be hazardous no matter who was in charge of the route.
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