“All this is linked to the long-term economic growth of Europe, which started centuries before in the early Middle Ages. This received a sharp set-back in the mid-14th century as a result of natural calamities, especially the Black Death, but within a couple of generations it resumed again. Reduced populations have enjoyed greater purchasing power.

Trade has expanded, towns and cities have grown, and urban elites have gained in political clout. In France, centralised royal power has increased at the expense of local nobles, aided by the king’s cannon train that can now make short work of previously impregnable baronial castles.  This development will soon spread to other countries in western Europe, to create strong, centralised nation-states. These will provide the political underpinnings for the European expansion to come.”

Summary:  During the Middle Ages, trade  spread across Europe creating new cities and countries.