Read an excerpt from an informational document.

in comparing the advantages of england for manufacturing with those of other countries, we can by no means overlook the excellent commercial position [location] of the country—intermediate [middle] between the north and south of europe, and its insular [inward looking] situation, which, combined with the command of the seas, secures our territory from invasion . . [o]ur ports command an unobstructed passage to the atlantic and to every quarter of the world.

—edward baines, history of the cotton manufacture in great britain,1835

which detail best supports the thesis that britain’s geographic advantages supported trade?

a. “its insular [inward looking] situation”

b. “combined with the command of the seas”

c. “an unobstructed passage to the atlantic”

d. “secures our territory from invasion”