Final answer:
Christopher Columbus sought a quicker sea route to Asia in order to establish a faster trade connection for spices and other goods. His westward expedition was motivated by the difficult and dangerous overland routes to Asia and the European desire to bypass Ottoman control.
Step-by-step explanation:
Christopher Columbus wanted to find a quicker route to Asia when he set sail in 1492. At that time, the overland routes to Asia were fraught with difficulties and dangers, such as the increased peril of travel following the collapse of the Mongol Empire and the plagues of the fourteenth century. Moreover, with the fall of Constantinople in 1453, the previous routes to Asian goods became more controlled by the Ottomans, prompting a greater incentive for Europeans to find new pathways to the East. Columbus, underestimating the Earth's size and unaware of the American continents, believed his westward journey from Spain would lead to the East Indies and establish a faster route for trading spices and other desirable commodities from Asia.