The Motives for European Exploration in the 15th and 16th Centuries

Europeans didn't suddenly start exploring just because they could; there were many motives that led to European exploration and expansion in the 15th and 16th centuries. They made people confront the dangerous journey to the new colonies, a journey which killed about one half of the people who tried it. People were led by strong motives, and even if not all were exactly quite as important to European expansion, all of them played a part in it.
Taking in mind the medieval attitudes of people at the time, religion can be taken as a very important motive. …