CLEP Western Civ I

Answer: D - The economic and political structure of Italy in the 13th century differed from than that of other European nations: Italy was a collection of city-states that operated with free market economies. Also, the wealthy merchants had the greatest access to political power in the city-states. Though feudalism was on the decline in the 13th century elsewhere in Europe, Italy was ahead of the game, and their wealth and the social mobility afforded by a free market economy, allowed the Renaissance to develop earlier in Italy than it did in other places.