In 1492, King Ferdinand(国王费迪南二 世 ) and Queen Isabella(王后伊莎贝拉 一世 )conquered Granada(格拉纳达 ),
the last Muslim stronghold on the Iberian peninsula(伊比利亚半岛).
Since September 9, Columbus began to hide the real navigational speed and miles, avoided that sailors may alarmed for they too far away from the land.
background of voyages
1. Religious factors Religious was one important factor enforced Europe including Spain to expand abroad. The Spanish, who believe in Catholicism(天主教), conflicting with Muslims frequently.
But Spain didn’t stop expansion. Breaking the sea road meet the requirement. Spain also have another conspiracy, that’s united the emperor of eastern Mongolia making a flank attack on Muslims.
3.The greed for wealth
Europe had long enjoyed a safe passage to China and India------the gold and sources of valued goods such as silk, spices etc.