Why were global maritime trade routes first established by Europeans rather than other powerful groups such as the Chinese?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

A. Maritime trade routes first established by Europeans
1. the Atlantic was special because its wind system inhibited exploration
for centuries but rewarded it spectacularly once it was launched
2. motivated by desire for increased trade
3. 1490s were a breakthrough-decade in Europe's efforts to reach
out across the ocean to the rest of the world
a. Christopher Columbus, in voyages financed by Italian bankers
and with backing from the Spanish monarchs, discovered fast,
reliable routes across the Atlantic that linked the Mediterranean
and the Caribbean
b. John Cabot, another Italian adventurer, backed by merchants in
Bristol and the English crown, discovered a direct route across
the North Atlantic, using variable springtime winds to get
across and the westerlies to get back
c. Portuguese sought to determine whether the Indian Ocean was
genuinely landlocked
1. Portuguese trading venture, commissioned by the crown
and probably financed by Italian bankers led by Vasco
da Gama, attempted to use the westerlies of the South
Atlantic to reach the Indian Ocean
4. Europeans rather than explorers from other cultures discovered the
world-girdling routes, linking the Old World to the New and the Indian
Ocean to the Atlantic
a. Europeans were special mainly in being slow to launch long-
range voyages
b. not that they set off with the right kind of culture, but that they
set off from the right place