By the end of the 15th century many things were changing in Europe. The <span>population </span>started to grow more quickly and a new class of merchants emerged. They wanted to buy and sell expensive and <span>valuable </span>products from Asia—like gold, <span>jewels </span>and silk.
In those days, people had no <span>refrigerators </span>to <span>preserve </span>their food. They dried meat and often used salt to make it last longer. To make food taste better they used spices , like pepper or cinnamon.
For centuries Europeans brought these goods on a land route from Asia over thousands of dangerous kilometres . In the 15th century the <span>overland </span>routes were being controlled by the Turkish Empire, which made it even more difficult for European <span>merchants </span>to pass through.
As a result, some European countries, like Spain and Portugal, decided to find out if there was a sea route to India. With the help of new kinds of ships that could sail faster and instruments , like the quadrant, they started the Age of Exploration.
hope i helped
