What was the original intent behind Christopher Columbus’s voyage west across the Atlantic Ocean?

a. To discover a new source of gold to support the cash-strapped Spanish crown
b. To find an alternate trade route to Asia
c. To conquer indigenous tribespeople and claim them as slaves
d. To establish Spanish colonies in the Americas
e. To escape religious persecution from the Catholic Church

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Disclaimer: This question is just for testing your knowledge of AP US History… it is not intended to be a “sample question” from the AP US History Exam! That’s what APUSH practice tests are for.




b. To find an alternate trade route to Asia

It took some doing, but Columbus convinced Spanish monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella to fund an expedition across the western seas. Columbus believed the world wasn’t quite as big around as all the bookworms said it was and that sailing to India via a westward route would be possible. Europeans at the time were looking for new trade routes to Asia that would circumvent the Italian city-states that controlled the Mediterranean, and sailing all the way around Africa was just a little too long of a ride.

christopher columbus, ap us history

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