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Questions and Answers
What was the main driving force behind European exploration and the colonization of the Americas?
What threatened the trading route via the Silk Road by the middle of the 15th century?
What unexpected outcome resulted from the development in shipbuilding and navigation in the 15th century?
Who is credited with the European discovery of the Americas in 1492?
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What did the new world (Americas) possess that attracted European explorers?
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European exploration and the colonization of the Americas was mainly fueled by the necessity for resources and wealth. The Orient, also known as the East, with exotic products such as pottery, silk, and species, soon became a magnet to European traders. The trading route via the Silk Road was under threat by the middle of the 15th century due to the rise in the power of the Ottoman Turks and the impairment of the Mongol Empire. At the same time, the development in shipbuilding and navigation made it possible for longer and further to travel. This helped to secure the trading route with Asia and unexpectedly led to the exploration of a new land, which is later known as the Americas. European discovery of the Americas in 1492, while on expeditions to find new trade routes from Europe to Asia, Christopher Columbus, an Italian explorer, accidentally discovered a new world that possessed all the natural wealth which the Europeans sought so eagerly. This new world, or later known as the Americas, is the ______.
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