Answer:
Europe saw the colonization of Africa as an opportunity to acquire a surplus population, thus settler colonies were created. With this invasion, many European countries saw Africa as being available to their disposal.
Land surrounding the Panama Canal is very fertile. The warm tropical weather is good for growing things. The original river and later the building of canal made trading very convenient. So there are a lot of industries developed in that region.
Gunpowder was invented by the Chinese, so the answer to your only question is A: Chinese.
