The document summarizes the Age of Exploration and Conquest in Europe between the 15th-17th centuries. It discusses several key causes that drove exploration including seeking new trade routes to Asia, Renaissance curiosity, and technological advances in navigation. Several countries led exploration efforts including Portugal, Spain, the Dutch Republic, France, and England. Portugal established routes around Africa to India. Spain sponsored Columbus' voyages to the Americas and conquests of the Aztec and Inca Empires. This period ushered in European global domination and the transatlantic slave trade.