To gain control of the spices The truth is that the spice trade had always been profitable for every country, especially so for those who controlled the trade route. read more
They could be sold for a lot of money. In Portugal the crown had a monopoly on the spice trade and during its 16th century some 60% of royal revenue came from the India trade. read more
Europe dangled at the far end of the trading chain for spices, without access to eastern sources or the power to contest exorbitant prices. At one point in the 1300s, when tariffs were at their highest, a pound of nutmeg in Europe cost seven fattened oxen and was a more valuable commodity than gold. read more
They were captured to be slaves for other people in the Americas, so they could farm the people's lands because the slave owners could have possibly wanted them to farm their lands instead of them doing it, or the slave owners just wanted the slaves to do the work for them and suffer while doing it. read more