Europeans faced hardships when traveling west. Yet they really wanted to discover and claim new lands. Explorers kept going to the New World.
Spain and Portugal’s settlements became established in Mexico and in Central and South America. Other nations looked to the rest of North America. Early on, many explorers still hoped to find the hoped-for sea route to China called the Northwest Passage. Time passed, and no one found that route. But explorers did find other valuable things. The New World was rich in natural resources.