To understand why Europeans began to explore one must first look back nearly 1000 years before the Renaissance when the Roman Empire split into its Eastern and Western Empires. While the Eastern Empire carried on, the Western Empire collapsed. Before its division and collapse, the Roman Empire had a very complicated trading network with the peoples of Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. This meant that the Romans had an economy that had access to many resources. .
In addition to trade, Rome also was "rich" in cultural activities. If one looks past their militaristic qualities, citizens of ancient Rome made many contributions in the areas of art, science, technology, and politics. Rome had many schools, and learning and the spread of ideas was valued. .
There was a point in the history when the Roman Empire stopped expanding. One reason the empire stopped expanding was because it had grown so large that one emperor could not control and protect the empire in times of emergency. When this expansion stopped, resources stopped coming into The Empire. This lack of resources, and other problems, caused internal conflicts that led to civil war. These problems weakened Rome to the point where the Western Empire was eventually invaded. Once invaded, by Germanic tribes and other "barbarians", the Western Empire quickly collapsed.
In the West, great cities fell into ruins, roads became overgrown with vegetation, and trade with Asia, Africa, and the Middle East stopped. The Western Roman Empire basically came to an end about A.D. 476.
For the next 1,000 years, life in Europe was very dismal. People lived together in small towns and villages for protection from hostile groups. War, disease, and famine was experienced throughout Europe. .
Over time, Europe began trading again with Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. This renewed trade came slowly. One of the first counties to carry on extensive trade with these three areas was Italy.