In late sixteenth-and early seventeenth-century Europe, increased agricultural production and the expansion of trade were important in economic growth. A. Bringing more land under cultivation produced enough food to create surpluses for trade and investment as well as for supporting the larger populations that led to the growth of rural industry. B. Most rural villages established an arrangement with a nearby urban center that enabled villagers to take advantage of urban markets to sell any handicrafts they produced. C. Increases in population and the expansion of trade led to increased manufacturing, much of it small-scale in character but some requiring significant capital investment. D. Increased capital was required for the production of goods, for storage, for trade, and for the provision of credit throughout of Europe as well as distant markets overseas. E. Bills of exchange were invented in medieval Italy but became less important as banks began to provide loans for merchants. F. The expansion of trade was facilitated by developments in banking and financial services and benefited from the huge influx of capital in the form of gold silver from the Americas.