Question

read the passage from 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 themselves. they each needed to vote, to speak out, to... which excerpt from the passage best states the authors’ claim? ○ most eastern europeans themselves were farmers who could be sold along with the land. ○ europeans and colonists in the americas destroyed africans, turned them into objects. ○ why did people keep speaking of equality while profiting from slaves? ○ the global hunger for slave - grown sugar led directly to the end of slavery.

Explanation:

To determine the authors' claim, we analyze each option:

• The first option describes eastern Europeans as farmers who could be sold, which is a detail, not the main claim.
• The second option describes the mistreatment of Africans, which is part of the context but not the overarching claim.
• The third option is a question, not a claim.
• The fourth option states that the global demand for slave - grown sugar led directly to the end of slavery. This aligns with the passage's idea that sugar (and the related system of slavery) had a connection to the spread of the idea of equality and the eventual end of slavery, as the passage discusses how the Age of Sugar (with slavery) was also a time when the idea of human equality spread, and sugar's role in this broader historical context includes leading to the end of slavery.

Answer:

D. The global hunger for slave - grown sugar led directly to the end of slavery.