Question

read the passage from sugar changed the 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 themselves. they each needed to vote, to speak out, to challenge the rules of crowned kings and royal princes. how could that be? why did people keep speaking of equality while profiting from slaves? in fact, the global hunger for slave - grown sugar led directly to the end of slavery. following the strand of sugar and slavery leads directly into the tumult of the age of revolutions. for in north america, then england, france, haiti, and once again north america, the age of sugar brought about the great, final clash between freedom and slavery.
which sentence best states the authors claim in this passage?
o economic demand for sugar led to political pressure to end enslavement.
o the growing demand for sugar made the lives of enslaved people even worse.
o turning africans into objects was important for the sugar industry to succeed.
o monarchies became increasingly strong and popular during the age of sugar.

Explanation:

The passage discusses how the economic demand for sugar led to the end of enslavement. It shows the connection between sugar production (which relied on enslaved Africans) and the European decision to end being "objects" (i.e., fight for rights, which contributed to ending slavery). The first option correctly captures this main idea as it links economic demand (for sugar) to the push to end enslavement. The second option focuses on making enslaved people's lives worse (not the end of enslavement). The third option emphasizes the sugar industry's need for enslaved Africans (not the end of slavery). The fourth option talks about monarchies (not relevant to the main idea of sugar demand leading to end of slavery).

Answer:

Economic demand for sugar led to pushes to end enslavement.