The Minoan civilization existed in the Bronze age. Crete's physical geography both helped and hurt the Minoan civilization's development in the following ways: Crete is a mountainous island with lots of natural harbours. The natural harbours would have helped the Minoans with economic activities such as fishing and trading with other nations. Agrarian activities would have been a challenge because of the mountainous terrain. It's not easy to farm on the side of a mountain. As a result, the Minoans were primarily traders.