Question

read the passage from the all men are created equal section of sugar changed the world. to say that “all men are equal” in 1716, when slavery was flourishing in every corner of the world and most eastern europeans themselves were farmers who could be sold along with the land they worked, was like announcing that there was a new sun in the sky. in the age of sugar, when slavery was more brutal than ever before, the idea that all humans are equal began to spread—toppling kings, overturning governments, transforming the entire world. sugar was the connection, the tie, between slavery and freedom. in order to create sugar, europeans and colonists in the americas destroyed africans, turned them into objects. just at that very same moment, europeans—at home and across the atlantic—decided that they could no longer stand being objects. which claim do both passages support? new technology in the sugar trade was the key factor in ending involuntary servitude worldwide. economic demand for sugar was the most important factor in the endurance of servitude and serfdom. economic demand for sugar was the most important factor in ending servitude and serfdom worldwide. new technology in the sugar trade made it possible for people to understand that humans are equal.

Explanation:

To solve this, we analyze each option:

• Option 1: The passage doesn't emphasize new technology ending servitude; it focuses on economic demand (sugar) and the spread of equality ideas. Eliminate.
• Option 2: The first passage shows slavery flourished with sugar (economic demand for sugar sustained servitude), and the second passage connects sugar to both slavery (servitude) and the start of the idea of equality (which would later challenge servitude). This aligns with economic demand for sugar being key in servitude's endurance.
• Option 3: The passage shows sugar was part of slavery's endurance, not ending it. The idea of equality spread during the Age of Sugar (when slavery was brutal), so sugar's demand didn't end servitude. Eliminate.
• Option 4: The passage says the idea of equality spread, not new technology helping people understand equality. Eliminate.

Answer:

B. Economic demand for sugar was the most important factor in the endurance of servitude and serfdom.