It was a mixture of various reasons, although for the Spanish and Portuguese it was a question of reaching India for spice trades after the embargo instated on them by the Ottoman Turks.
The Portuguese went around Africa, and the Spanish tried sailing west across the barren ocean, and accidentally discovered America through Columbus.
A system in which countries kept their sole right to trade with their colonies
The growth of the city populations.
I’m sure of the answer, I found the test !