Christopher Columbus explored primarily to find a westward sea route to Asia (including India, China, and the Spice Islands) to access valuable goods like gold, spices, silk, and other riches. At the time, land routes such as the Silk Road to Asia were blocked or made costly and difficult by the Ottoman Empire's control of key territories. Columbus aimed to bypass these routes by sailing west across the Atlantic Ocean, believing it would be a shorter and more direct path to Asia. His voyages were also motivated by hopes of gaining wealth, status, and spreading Christianity, as well as fulfilling certain religious and political ambitions supported by the Spanish Crown. Columbus mistakenly believed the Earth was smaller and that Asia was closer to Europe by sailing west, which led him instead to the Americas, which he initially thought were part of Asia. His exploration marked the beginning of European awareness and subsequent colonization of the New World.