1. Which of the following best explains why the cities of North Africa and the Italian peninsula were struck by the Black Death (essentially) simultaneously in the late 1340’s? A) Both areas had climates that made residents particularly vulnerable to (severe) bacterial epidemics
B) Both areas had theocratic political leaders, who (initially) enacted ineffective responses to the arrival of the epidemic
C) Both areas were directly connected to the Silk Road trade network, through which the epidemic spread from East to West
D) Both areas were directly connected to the Trans-Mediterranean trade network, through which the epidemic spread further west