>>14363184It comes as a consequence of getting civilization early. In broad steps, lets unpack this:
1) greeks - good at science, art, writing (all beneficial for civilization building)
2) romans conquer greece, take greek culture (along with all those beneficial things for civilization) and spread it everywhere they go
3) romans conquer many lands, including most of the lands in your area, those territories get to start advancing early
4) after rome falls, it is a setback to those territories, but they are still better off than territories that were never civilized to begin with
5) eventually, Charlemagne (Carolus Magnus) re-establishes/establishes new empire and actually cares abut education, building on greek/roman accomplishments as a foundation and bring in the "Carolingian Renaissance" - a mini renaissance when the rest of europe was pretty dark in that regard
6) over time, albeit slowly (because middle ages) these areas continue to progress and are ahead in philosophy, art, science and technology compared tot he rest of europe
7) because there areas are comparatively advanced, they become richer
8) in 14th century, the Renaissance proper happens, it spreads faster in areas where science and art are already prominent and ahs a greater effect there. All of europe got a boost here, but those areas that got to start earlier (in your picture) got a bigger boost, hence became even more advanced and even richer
9) being richer and better at science and tech, they become better at exploring, especially in the sea, as it requires advanced tech (better ships, navigation science)
10) not long after, the age of discovery happens and these places that were better at exploring were at the forefront of discovering (and conquering) new lands
11) resources received from conquered lands overseas make the countries even richer, so they can spend even more money on science, tech and art, thus boosting them even further ahead of everyone else
