The Renaissance and Age of Exploration In 1453 Europe had to take risks to get out of the “Dark Ages” and into the Golden Age (Renaissance). In the “Dark Ages” the majority of people were living in hard and poor times. Trying to get into the Golden Age started the Age of Exploration, which was a series of voyages and expeditions the Europeans made to get into the global trade and wealth of the east coast. In document one of the DBQ it says, “With trade routes to the east in hand of the Ottomans, Europeans needed to find new trade routes.” This was one cause of the Europeans wanting to explore new lands. Christopher Columbus had a trade network named after him. Europeans established colonies around the world, and a trade exchange of goods across