The main goal of the Age of Exploration was to find a shorter route to get to the Indie Islands for their spice trade, which was at that time, very valuable and the silk road was too long and expensive.
Explanation:
The Portuguese traders decided that since the land route was not effective enough to get control over the spice trade in Asia, they decided to explore other trade routes whereby they would arrive at the East Indies faster without the heavy charges they were given when using the Silk Road. They had passed by the Cape Verde islands and it took them a while to understand the strong wave currents at the Golf Of Guinea before they would find a way to pass by it unharmed to reach Africa and the spice trade.
The Cape of Good Hope was not difficult to pass, but the Benguela Current flowing in a clock-wise direction had caused a lot of trouble for the traders passing by. In the end, they realised that they could apply the same method of overcoming the Canary Current using Volta do mar for the Benguela Current. This was the greatest achievement for the traders who went through the Age of Exploration and wanted to find a shorter route to get to the spice islands.
