Why did Europeans of the 1400s want to send explorers to East Asia?

A.

to find places where Europeans could settle

B.

to find the secrets of Asian wealth

C.

to take over the land and people there

D.

to get spices, gold, silk, and jewels

B is the correct answer. Western rulers wanted access to Asian wealth and wanted to find the secrets for how they became so wealthy. In the 1400s, Europeans such as the Portugese Vasco de Garma got as far as India, but it wasn’t until the 1500s that they reached East Asia.