In what way were the italian city states geographically socially and politically pre-disposed to benefit from the economic changes occurring in europe following the crusades

The geographic aspect of the question is the most evident one: Italy is a Mediterranean nation, its position dominates the entire Mediterranean and any navy from any of the Italian city States has a geographical advantage in that respect as its ships can quickly come to any place in the Mediterranean Sea. That advantage was a disadvantage during the Middle Ages when Islamic Pirates and Slave traders raided every Christian Mediterranean town or city to pillage and plunder, taking thousands of Italians (especially women) as slaves. Southern Italy and Sicily were invaded and colonized by Islamic invaders. Socially, Italy was the first European country to leave the Middle Ages and start the Renaissance. Following the Crusades, they were at the forefront of the Renaissance and because they had been actively engaged in the Crusades they were able to access lots of Classic knowledge that had been lost in Europe after the Fall of Rome and which had been preserved by Non-Arab Muslim and non-Muslim scholars during the Golden Age of Islam. Politically, because they were organized as city States, they had a local, centralized authority that made it easier and more effective to compete for political and economic hegemony of the Mediterranean seaboard, which was a very rich region.

answer: the ocean

explanation: if you map out 30 n and 40 n latitude, you will get the ocean