The Asian islands near China and India were fabled for their spices and gold, making them an attractive destination for Europeans. In other words, I believe that motivated him. No, he did not. He thought he had reached Asia, but it was actually America. Well the Spanish goal seemed to be to kill as many Taíno as possible, so Columbus did not treat them well, none of the Spaniards did.
Asian territories, especially China and India (Mughal Empire) were full of precious metals and lots of spices. That's what encouraged Christopher Columbus and many explorers to go to Asia; however, he did not reach Asia. Instead, he reached to Latin America and the Carribean islands. He brutally treated the Taino and other native tribes of the Caribbean; he would force them into slavery and make sure that the tribes would give all of their prized possessions in the hands of Columbus and other Spanish conquistadors (explorers). Eventually, he found that the Carribean and Latin America was another huge opportunity for the rise of the economy for his mother country, Spain. He surprised and made the Spaniard leaders very happy with the many precious items he found. Coconuts were also introduced to Spain. Queen Isabella of Castille, the ruler of Spain at the time, gave Columbus ownership of all the land he discovered ad found as long as the Crown collected around 20% of the revenue earned by Columbus. However, eventually, other conquistadors had found out what Columbus and other explorers like Pizarro were doing in Latin America and immediately reported their brutality to the Crown. Columbus faced numerous charges and consequences.
