The tone of the journal best reflects which of the following developments in the Indian Ocean trade network?

(A) The ability of commerce to foster cultural diffusion (B) The superiority of Arabian port cities (C) The increasing difficulty caused by language barriers (D) The overproduction of cash cropsExplanation: Ibn Batutta focuses on the presence of Indian and Egyptian merchants living in a port city on the Arabian Peninsula. This indicates the presence of cultural diffusion, (A). While this journal passage takes place in Aden, there is no discussion of whether such cities were superior to others along the Indian Ocean, so eliminate (B). The trade network is successful despite the many languages present, so (C) does not make sense. There is no evidence of crop overproduction, so get rid of (D).