Correct answer choice is :
<h2>A) They gained control over many Byzantine trading routes. </h2><h2 /><h3>Explanation:</h3><h3 />
During the late Middle Ages, Northern and Central Italy became far more wealthy than the south of Italy, with the city-states, such as Venice and Genoa, among the richest in Europe. The Crusades had made lasting business links to the Levant, and the Fourth Crusade had done much to damage the Byzantine Roman Empire as an economic competitor to the Venetians and Genoese. The central trade tracks from the east crossed through the Byzantine Empire or the Arab lands and onwards to the ports of Genoa, Pisa, and Venice. Luxury goods got in the Levant, such as spices, dyes, and silks were shipped to Italy and then resold everywhere in Europe.