Which two groups of people controlled the trade routes to asia before the age of exploration?
a) germans and austrians
b) the holy roman empire
c) muslims and italians
d) clerics and priest

Germans and Austrians, are the two groups of people controlled the trade routes to Asia before the age of exploration.

Option A

Explanation:

Before the age of exploration (which mainly referred to voyages through oceans), the trading routes passing from Europe to Asia were broadly under the control of the Germans and the Austrians.German and Austrian traders and merchants, for the sake of their security, formed a league called the Hanseatic League.This functioned to take care and dominate the trade routes leading to Asia. This league kept the trade routes under its possession for several centuries.