All the goodies back then, like spices, gold, purple fabrics,and so forth were found in Asia - Indian and China, mainly. To getthere, you had to sail all the way around Africa, which was a longand dangerous trip. Columbus was paid to sail west and get to Chinaand India the other way. People did not know about North and SouthAmerica back then, and did not know how very wide the Pacific Oceanwas, so their plan did not work.