What were the motives for European exploration in the 15th and 16th centuries? Which one was the most important?

Europeans didn't suddenly start exploring just because they could; there were many motives that led to European exploration and expansion in the 15th and 16th centuries. They made people confront the dangerous journey to the new colonies, a journey which killed about one half of the people who tried it. People were led by strong motives, and even if not all were exactly quite as important to European expansion, all of them played a part …

…people to dare cross the Atlantic), it is quite obvious that the major motive was material wealth. People saw new possibilities in the new lands, new ways to make profits, new untouched lands to settle and escape from their former lives and a new area to gain raw materials from. It was money which "inspired" people and made them go on, not some sudden strong, humble spiritual desire to just spread the love of God.