Why Did Many European Powers Overextend Their Budgets and Flirt

Multiple Choice

Why did many European powers overextend their budgets and flirt with bankruptcy in the sixteenth century?

A) The cost of waging war had risen as a result of the need for larger armies and more expensive military technology.
B) Because of marriages between rival dynasties, the cost of maintaining lavish royal courts and palaces had increased dramatically.
C) Maintaining overseas colonies proved to be a significant drain on the royal budgets.
D) Kings and princes failed to undertake measures to ease the shortfall, including devaluing the currency and raising taxes.