Which sentence from the section explains WHY
European explorers traveled to Africa?

Explanation:

Europeans first became interested in Africa for trade route purposes. They were looking for ways to avoid the taxes of the Arab and Ottoman empires in Southwest Asia. Sailing around Africa was the obvious choice, but it was a long voyage and could not be completed without “pit stops” along the way.

by the 1400s, Portuguese sailors, backed by Prince Henry the Navigator, began exploring the West coast of Africa looking for a mythical Christian king named Prester John and a way to the wealth of Asia that avoided the Ottomans and the powerful empires of South West Asia.

explanation:

with the profits from the european sales, merchants purchased europe's manufactured  goods, including tools and weapons. then the merchants shipped those manufactured  goods, along with the  american  sugar and rum, to west africa where they were bartered for  slaves.