The correct answer is A) the desire to profit from the trade of pepper and other species found in the Indies.
The other options of the question were B) the desire to increase the size of the Dutch population in Europe. C) the need to find an alternate source of food following a great famine in Europe. D) the need to protect military outposts in West Africa.
What was a pull factor that caused the Dutch to explore the Indies was the desire to profit from the trade of pepper and other species found in the Indies.
As was the case with other European superpowers, the Dutch were interested in colonizing new territories to exploit them and increase the wealth of the Dutch crown. They explored the Indies and they discovered places such as the Dutch Indies, modern-day Indonesia, and established a colony there. They found a place with natural resources and raw materials that they exploited from 1816 to 1949.