Final answer:
The correct answer is b. Christopher Columbus brought sugarcane to the New World during his second voyage in 1493, leading to the birth of the sugar industry in the Caribbean and the consequential increase of the African slave trade to meet the labor demands of sugar plantations.
Step-by-step explanation:
Sugarcane was among the various plants and crops brought by Columbus on his travels to the Caribbean. Specifically, it was during his second voyage in 1493 that Columbus brought sugarcane to the New World. The Spanish had previously introduced sugar cultivation to the Canary Islands in the early 15th century. The climate in the Caribbean proved to be suitable for sugar cultivation, leading to the establishment of sugar plantations across various islands and tropical areas. These sugar plantations became economically important, as sugar was a highly sought-after commodity in Europe, similar to the role that oil plays in the modern economy. Sugar cultivation in the Americas required significant labor which, due to the decline in Indigenous populations from diseases and harsh conditions, increasingly relied on the enslavement and transport of Africans to work in the fields and mills.
Thus, Columbus's introduction of sugarcane had far-reaching effects on agriculture, economy, and societal structures in the Americas and Europe.