This was the situation in Europe between the rise of the Ottoman Empire and the beginning of colonization. One of the driving factors for Portuguese exploration was the Ottoman Empire's stranglehold on Asian trade, and particularly spices. Europe had few luxury goods to trade for those goods, but it did have gold and silver. The Ottoman Empire demanded exorbitant prices from European merchants, and gold and silver were being exchanged into Ottoman treasuries at a damaging rate. Portugal began its exploration searching for a sea route to Asia, and managed to find one.