Who were philosophers during the renaissance

Can someone read this article and tell me the 1) key ideas and 2) one key quote (copy and paste the link the article is not to long at all)from

As with any small island country, cuba has fewer natural resources than countries such as brazil. this affects their economy in that cuba a) exports only manufactured products. b) exports more products than it imports.. c) must import more products than it exports. d) has imposed trade barriers against the united states.

What was the midwest states often called because they were located in the center of the nation