Which one of the following groups of plants was domesticated in the ‘New World’ and introduced into the ‘Old World’?
- Tobacco, cocoa and rubber
- Tobacco, cotton and rubber
- Cotton, coffee and sugarcane
- Rubber, coffee and wheat
Explanation
Option (a) is correct
- After Christopher Columbus returned from his first voyage to the Caribbean in 1493, a significant event known as the Columbian Exchange began. The Columbian Exchange involved the transfer of goods, ideas, and resources between the Old World and the New World in the years following Columbus’s expedition. The Old World refers to the Eastern Hemisphere, which includes present-day Europe, Africa, and Asia, while the New World refers to the Western Hemisphere, encompassing the Americas. This period of exchange was especially prominent during the 1500s and 1600s. All three plants – tobacco, cocoa, and rubber – were domesticated in the Americas (the “New World”) and were introduced to the Old World.
