The main cause of European exploration in the 15th and 16th century was economics, followed by religion, and to a lesser extent an advance in technology.
In “A History of World Societies,” the author states “The basic reason for European exploration and expansion… was the quest for material profit” (Buckler 505). Europeans practiced mercantilism, where the colonies only existed to help their original country become richer. Exploring was an easy way to acquire wealth by investing in plantations in Asia and America. Bartholomew Diaz explained that he explored “to grow rich as all men desire to do.” He believed the way to achieve this was to explore the Americas. Ogier Gheselin de Busbecq, a diplomat of the sixteenth century, believed