Which one of the following groups of plants was domesticated in the ‘New World’ and introduced into the ‘Old World’?

[UPSC Civil Services Exam – 2019 Prelims]

(a) Tobacco, cocoa and rubber

(b) Tobacco, cotton and rubber

(c) Cotton, coffee and sugarcane

(d) Rubber, coffee and wheat

Answer: (a)        

Explanation:

• During the late medieval or early modern era, the Europeans brought tobacco, cocoa, and rubber to India from South America.
• These plants were domesticated in the New World and were introduced to the Old World, which is now known as the Columbian Exchange, named after Christopher Columbus.
• This exchange involved the transfer of various items such as plants, animals, culture, human populations, technology, diseases, and ideas between the Americas, West Africa, and the Old World in the 15th and 16th centuries.