Columbus was motivated by the desire to find a direct sea route to Asia, where he believed he could find wealth and spices. He had read extensively about the riches of India and China, and he was determined to find a way to reach these places without having to travel through the Ottoman Empire, which controlled the traditional overland routes.
If we were to ask what the largest prisoner escape of World War II was, surely we would all automatically think of the two from Stalag Luft III. The one that was made into a movie in The Great Escape and the one known as The Wooden Horse. However, seventy-six men participated in the first, of whom