Step-by-step explanation:
Byzantine and Islamic civilizations to the east. High demand for Middle Eastern goods enabled Italian merchants to set up trading centers in eastern ports. There they obtained silks, sugar, and spices, which were sent back to Europe.
Italian trading ships had also moved into the western Mediterranean and then north along the Atlantic seaboard. These ships exchanged goods with merchants in England and the Netherlands. Goods, however, were not the only cargo.