Answer:
From voyages of trade and discovery to colonisation:
This section of the grade 10 curriculum was developed in 2009. While much of the content is still relevant to the new curriculum, the focus is slightly different. However, it provides for great further reading. In this section you will look at how the expansion of European trade led to the establishment of fortified trading stations and eventually permanent European settlements in the Americas, Africa and India.
The powerful Ottoman Empire blocked European access to markets in the East. The Ottoman Turks controlled trade routes to the East.
The main reason why Europeans began to search for a sea route to the East was to avoid paying expensive customs duties, or taxes. The rulers of every country between India and Europe charged a tax on the spice shipments as the goods passed through their land. Europeans used spices such as salt, nutmeg and cloves to preserve their meat, as they did not have refrigerators to keep meat fresh.
