Final answer:
Christopher Columbus convinced King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain to fund his voyage to the Far East. His erroneous views and misunderstanding of the size of the Earth led him to believe he had landed in the East Indies instead of the Americas. If Columbus had not embarked on his voyages, Spain would have sought other explorers to fund expeditions to find a new route to Asia.
Step-by-step explanation:
Christopher Columbus, a Genoese sailor, convinced King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain to fund his voyage to the Far East in search of a sea-route to Asia. However, Columbus held erroneous views about the size of the Earth and mistakenly believed he had landed in the East Indies when he made landfall in the Bahamas. If Columbus had instead gone into his family business, it is likely that Spain would have looked for other explorers to fund expeditions to find a new route to Asia, maintaining the monopolization of the spice trade by other European powers.