Question

Historically, Great Britain, France, Spain, Portugal & the Netherlands became global colonial world powers. Which of the following would be a factor in why these countries became global powers, while those of central and eastern Europe did not?

a. All had similar strong central governments based on the Roman Republican model.
b. All had access to the ocean with long coastline, a mairtime culture of trade, and they had large port cities.
c. They had uniform religious beliefs, which created stronger, more homogeneous societies.
d. All were small, mountainous countries that had limited agrarian land and small populations.

Answer 1

Correct answer is b. All had access to the ocean with long coastline, a maritime culture of trade, and they had large port cities.

Step-by-step explanation:

Option B is the only correct answer, because this countries were opened towards the Atlantic Ocean, developed their trade system and started settling in the New World, establishing colonies, not only in Americas, but later also in the other continents. Their ports were the center of trade, and even today ports such as Rotterdam are among the main trade centers in the world. On the other side, this were large countries, France was among the largest countries in Europe, where most of the inhabitants were Catholic, while for example in Britain most people were Protestants.