3) Why did the age of exploration benefit Europe and made it what it is today?

Due to spirit of reasoning, Renaissance and emphasis on human logic.

Explanation:

Europe by the mid of 15th century was going major societal and literary transformation. The old decadent thoughts were questioned and emphasis was placed on reasoning and human logic. This came to be known as the renaissance. Due to social transformation and spirit of enquiry, sailors (mostly from coastal countries such as Spain, Portugal, and later Italy) began venturing into deep seas to explore and discover a new world. Earlier the venture and discovery activity was mostly dominated by Arabs who have been in the sea since the 7th century AD. These activities were supported by discoveries in art of navigation, production of world maps etc. As a result of these activities, Columbus on his venture to find the shortest route to Indies (currently island of Indonesia famous for species) landed into America thus discovering the whole continent of America. What followed the venture was several expeditions to a different part of the worlds. The transformation took place in the economic sphere and crude concept of factory originated when workers were made to work away from home at the predesignated site by the landlords. The wheel turned and turned and the whole of Europe in succession witnessed Industrial revolution at the same time the rest world experienced the scourge of colonialization. It was the absence of the Industrial revolution in the regions outside Europe that made them fall prey to colonial powers.