Answer :
The subject of the question is the Columbian Exchange, a significant event in history that transformed the world's cultures, economies, and environments. This exchange refers to the widespread transfer of plants, animals, culture, human populations, technology, diseases, and ideas between the Americas, West Africa, and the Old World in the 15th and 16th centuries, following Christopher Columbus's 1492 voyage.
To understand and visualize the Columbian Exchange, the most helpful map would be:
(a) A map of the paths ships traveled between Europe and the Americas.
This is the chosen option because such a map would show the routes taken by European explorers and traders across the Atlantic Ocean. Understanding these routes helps illustrate how goods, people, animals, and diseases moved between continents. It provides a clear picture of the flow of the Columbian Exchange, highlighting the interconnectedness that developed between the Old and New Worlds as a result.
Option (b), a map of the American coastline in the present day, and option (c), a map of Europe before explorers set sail, do not directly address the movement and exchanges that characterized the Columbian Exchange, and thus would be less useful for understanding this historical process. A modern coastline map or a pre-voyage map of Europe lacks context on the exchange dynamics and impacts.
By choosing the map noted in option (a), a reader can better grasp the magnitude and implications of this pivotal event in global history, characterized by significant bi-directional exchanges that permanently changed agriculture, diets, and economies globally.
