Which is the best explanation for the spread of the renaissance to Northern Europe?

A) Italian armies conquered large areas of Europe

B) Italian merchants traded with prosperous cities to the north

C) traders from the Byzantine Empire arrived in European cities

D) Artist ms and thinkers fled Italy because of war and disease

C) traders from the Byzantine Empire arrived in European cities

Explanation:

With the growth of sea lanes, two major trade axes were established in Europe: the Mediterranean axis, dominated by the Italian cities of Venice and Genoa, and the Nordic axis, known as the Hanseatic League.

The impetus of Venice and Genoa is attributed to the fact that their agricultural production was small. Thus, in the eleventh century, these cities supported the beginning of the Crusades, with the interest of obtaining luxury goods from the eastern market, which had been closed since the Muslim conquest. They were also known to encourage the Fourth Crusade to expand their businesses to the lands of the Byzantine Empire.

The Hanseatic League dominated the market in northern Europe. It was formed by a group of German cities that allied and were able to exert market control in regions from eastern Europe to Iceland.

From the late thirteenth century onwards, the most successful traders established trading houses, exerting very great control over part of the flow of trade and often over the cities in which they were located. One example is the merchants of the German city of Cologne, who managed to establish a trading house by the River Thames in London in 11303.

This impulse resulted in the development of a new social class: the bourgeoisie. As it got rich, the power of the bourgeoisie, coming from its fortunes, became confused with the power of the nobility, especially in the cities.

i think answer C. sounds about right.