Question

mauricio drelichman and hans - joachim voths research into the debt defaults of philip ii (who ruled an empire including spain and sicily from 1556 to 1598) relates to other work on european early modern state finance, including hoffman and norbergs research on the relationship between state finance and political development. but drelichman and voths unique contribution to the field is their reconstruction of the earliest extant set of annual fiscal records for any sovereign state, demonstrating in turn that philips debt defaults were caused by short - term cash shortages, not long - term unsustainable debts.
which choice best states the main idea of the text?
a. the research by drelichman and voth suggests that the logistics of ruling both spain and sicily led to short - term problems with cash that forced philip ii to default on his debts.
b. drelichman and voth advanced the field of research on european early modern state finance by assembling a novel collection of evidence that gave them insight into philip iis debt defaults.
c. analysis of the earliest available records of a sovereign states finances can be found not in the work of hoffman and norberg but in that of drelichman and voth.
d. drelichman and voths research on philip iis debt defaults builds on earlier work by hoffman and norberg, adding nuance to the earlier works findings.

Explanation:

The text emphasizes that Drelichman and Voth's unique contribution is their reconstruction of the earliest extant set of annual fiscal records for a sovereign state (Philip II's), which provided new evidence (a novel collection of evidence) about Philip II's debt defaults (insight into Philip II's debt defaults).

Answer:

B. Drelichman and Voth advanced the field of research on European early modern state finance by assembling a novel collection of evidence that gave them insight into Philip II's debt defaults.