Why Europe Looked to the East Other European nations were interested in competing with Italy for trade with Asia. The desire to spread Christianity also drove Europeans to explore the world. 1 of 4 European Exploration of Africa and Asia Section 1: European Exploration Begins Portuguese Exploration Prince Henry of Portugal sponsored voyages along the African coast after the Portuguese succeeded in taking the city of Ceuta in North Africa. Bartolomeu Dias finally rounded the Cape of Good Hope in 1488, and Vasco da Gama sailed into the Indian Ocean and to the port of Calicut in India in 1498.

Columbus Sails Under Spanish Flag Italian sailor Christopher Columbus convinced Queen Isabella of Spain to sponsor his attempt to reach Asia by sailing west, across the Atlantic. He and his crew reached the Caribbean in 1492, believing they had succeeded. 2 of 4 European Exploration of Africa and Asia Section 1: European Exploration Begins

3 of 4 European Exploration of Africa and Asia Section 1: European Exploration Begins Section Reading Support Transparency MapMaster: European Voyages of Exploration All the Way Around the World Once it was understood that Columbus had reached the Americas and not Asia, other Europeans looked for a passage around or through the Americas. Vasco Núñez de Balboa saw the Pacific from the Isthmus of Panama, but it was Ferdinand Magellan who reached the Pacific by ship and landed in the Philippines, where he was killed. His surviving crew members were the first to circumnavigate the globe.

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