The imrpoved agricultural techniques, such as the three field system, the climate change, and the horse plows. These effected Western Europe during the middle ages because the three field system produced better crops, the climate opened more land to farming, and the horse plows allowed faster harvesting. This made life a lot easier for farmers.
It all depends on the definition of the term Modern Era. The word modern comes from Latin word modo, which means right now or just now. It was used for the first time during the Renaissance in Italy to bring attention to the great rediscoveries of sciences, the arts, history and politics of Classical antiquity and the subsequent discoveries and progresses accomplished like the Age of Discovery.
If such definition is used as the basis for this question then the answer is definitely C.The establishment of global empires.
Indeed, since during the previous periods, Empires were limited to their immediate geographic areas. There had been some attempts to explore areas that were located much farther like the Vikings and their travels to Greenland and North America.
However, it was the Europeans: and to some lesser extent the Chinese, that actually discovered (in the literal sense of removing the cover) the Americas for the entirety of the world. The discovery paved the way for the emergence of Global Empires that were completely unprecedented in the history of humanity since they spanned several continents. For instance, the Global Spanish Empire Under Philip II of Spain in the 16th Century that spanned the continents of Europe, the Americas, Africa and Asia.
In his text "Slavery, a System of Inherent Cruelty," Theodore D. Weld shows how cattle were sometimes treated better than slaves. An example he gives of this is how cattle are allowed to graze as much as they want, while slaves often received a very small portion of food. Another example he gives is how when cattle are to be sold, they are transported in a way that is comfortable to them. On the other hand, slaves often had to walk very long distances, regardless of the weather, while being chained to each other.
Answer: Italy has attracted settlers for thousands of years because of many reasons, of course, but it's positioning as a prime spot in the Mediterranean Ocean was a major reason.
Explanation: