Very long story short, farming and sugar, as well as a port to china, east india and asia. and the islands were a prime place for a navel base.
D. A historian reads a journal entry by a pilgrim.
Okay, the other answer is wrong. The Electoral College's votes are what decide if you can be president or not. So people who actually became president (like Lincoln) did recieve enough votes from the Electoral College. However, during his own election, Al Gore didn't get enough votes from the Electoral College in the Presidential Election in 2000. That's why he lost the election, even though his popular vote was higher.
Hope this helps!
