The correct answer is A) They were searching for a waterway through or around North America, or a northwest passage to Asia.
The French send Giovanni da Verrazano to the Americas because they were searching for a waterway through or around North America, or a northwest passage to Asia.
Italian explorer Giovanni da Verrazano (1485-1528) was sent by King Francis 1 in the 1520s to explore North America, specifically the East Coast to find a route to the Pacific. When he arrived at Cape Fear, North Carolina, he continued to the North and discovered New York harbor. He was the one who charted the Atlantic Coast of North America.