How did the European interest in the spice trade lead to the discovery of new routes and lands?

The Spice Trade in Europe led to the Europeans discovering new routes in order to further get to Asian countries to acquire these spices.

Christopher Columbus was motivated by the luxury of spices to find a faster route to the West Indies (China/Indonesia area), where most of the spices came from, but instead found the North American continent.

The European Age of Discovery was during which the spice trade, particularly in black pepper, became an influential activity for European traders. The route from Europe to the Indian Ocean via the Cape of Good Hope resulted in new routes for trade.