Final answer:
The country with a canal that allows ships to cross from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean without circumnavigating South America is Panama, which is known for the Panama Canal completed in 1914.Option B is the correct answer.
Step-by-step explanation:
The country that has a canal for ships to cross from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean without going around South America is Panama. This canal is known as the Panama Canal, which was an immense engineering project undertaken primarily by the United States between 1904 and 1914. Before the canal's construction, ships had to journey around the treacherous tip of South America to travel between these two oceans—a voyage that was both long and hazardous.
The creation of the Panama Canal was fueled by various factors, including the need to shorten the shipping distance between the eastern and western coasts of the United States, as highlighted by the gold rushes and military considerations during conflicts like the Spanish-American War.
Despite initial French efforts to build a canal in the late 19th century, which were ultimately unsuccessful due to tropical diseases and financial issues, the United States succeeded in constructing a 50-mile canal across the nation of Panama, which drastically reduced the distance ships needed to travel between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
Therefore, the correct option for the country with a canal allowing for passage between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans is b) Panama.