Two of the the three primary reasons for exploration include “gold” and “glory”.
Many countries wanted to explore other nations to exert political power and control, display their country’s prowess and greatness, and to acquire resources and precious metals from foreign lands either by trade or forceful extraction.
For an example, the Spanish crown funded the exploration of Christopher Columbus in order to search for gold and other resources to further enrich Spain.
Another example includes the exploration of Chinese diplomat Zhang Quiang attempting to politically align with the Yuèzhī.
