In the 1400s Europe was made up of many independent states. The states often competed with each other for resources including imported goods from Africa and Asia imagine you are European ruler in the 1400s what can you do as a ruler to gain a competitive advantage or upper hand over the European states? a) ban any goods that came from africa or asia b) rely on other European states to sell goods from Africa and Asia to you c) try to find new trade routes to Africa and Asia

c) try to find new trade routes to Africa and Asia

Explanation:

Finding new trade routes to Africa and Asia is a good way to gain a competitive advantage over other European, rival states. This in fact what Portugal first, and later Spain, did during the later years of the 1400s.

The motivation was that the Ottoman Empire controlled the Eastern Mediterranean, and this prevented Western European nations from trading with East Asia and the Middle East with ease.

Portugal opted to look for new routes around Africa, and the Indian Ocean, while Spain decided to look for a new route throught the west, which led to the arrival of Columbus in the Americas in 1492.