Why were European merchants eager to stop using the Silk Road and to find a water route to the East?

European merchants were eager to stop using the Silk Road and find a maritime route to the East because this route had been taken by the Ottoman Turks in 1453, when the fall of Constantinople and the dissolution of the Byzantine Empire occurred.

From that moment on, Muslims began to exercise tight control over the Middle East and its trade routes, charging sumptuous fees to those who wished to transit them, thus limiting the trade of European Christian nations. For this reason, given the practical impossibility of trading with China and India, European nations began to explore alternative maritime routes to reach these nations, giving rise to the Age of Discovery.

I would have taken part in the sit-ins at resuraunts.

Explanation: The people I would have met would be college students like Diane Nash, James Bevel, and other students who led, directed, and strategized the sit-ins in the 1960's civil rights movement. Hope this helps! :D