Conquistadors like Cortes and Pizarro were part of a wave of Europeans who explored the world. Beginning in the fifteenth century, ships sailed from Portugal and Spain and later from the Netherlands and England on voyages to the fabled East described by Marco Polo, Explorers also sailed to continents that the Europeans called a New World. Until the late 1400's Europeans did not know that North and South America existed. In addition, The Europeans didn't explore just to find out what was there. Their first interest was in making money from trade. Once they discovered new regions they often become interested in conquest. Many explores also hoped to convert the residents of newfound lands to Christianity.