Answer:
Large areas of Europe were conquered by Muslims. When these areas such as southern Spain were recaptured and placed under Christian rule Muslim customs and architecture remained. Christians were encouraged to go on Crusade to recapture Jerusalem from the Muslims.
What gave them an advantage is economic prosperity due to rich soil and development of plantations based on slave labor. Many profit was accumulated from crops (tobacco) and also cotton. Later on in the 1800s when Eli Whitney created the cotton gin it created a boom in the slave industry and increased largely by 71%. After that the tool allowed mass production in textile industries.
The Canal was regarded as “The lifeline of the Empire” because it allowed for quick and easy access to the British colonies in Asia and Africa
