Why can agricultural expansion in colonial deforestation be called not only a food need but a revenue strategy?

Correct answer: Because land tax could be collected from cultivation

Direct answer: Option A, because cultivation made it possible to collect land tax. Food demand was one reason for clearing forests, but colonial governments also viewed cultivated land as a reliable source of revenue. The reasoning is: forest is cleared, land is brought under cultivation, crops are produced, and the state assesses and collects land revenue. Therefore agricultural expansion could serve both food needs and a fiscal strategy. Option A is correct. Option B is wrong because farming does not automatically increase forests; clearing for farming generally reduces forest cover. Option C is wrong because cultivation was closely connected with state taxation, land surveys and settlement policies. Option D is absurd and wrong because agriculture takes place on land, not only in the sea. The important lesson is that colonial expansion of cultivation had both an economic purpose for people and a revenue purpose for the state. Memory cue: more cultivated land meant more taxable land.