until about the 16th century, europe was not that far ahead of africa. before that, the 2 were impoverished, undeveloped, and uncivilized continents. sure, europe had writing, but everyone but clergy and nobles was illiterate.
the quality of life in the 2 contents was about the same, people died at 25, infant mortality rate was painfully high, lots of women and babies died in childbirth. there was a famine every other year. there was no toilet paper, no bathrooms for that matter, and when you did get cholera, there was no way to treat it. people died of the pox and the plague left and right.
until very very recently, both continents were s**t.