Question

which is the best version of the underlined word connecting sentences 7 and 8 (reproduced below)?
in the 1700s, kidnapped african people were held there until they were sold in slave markets on the other side of the river. thus, by situating this \catastrophe\ caravan in a former site of slave commerce and carving into it figures who seem to vary in age, walker forces the viewer to acknowledge the enormity and brutality of slavery.
no change
but
regardless
yet

Explanation:

The original word "Thus" indicates a cause - effect relationship. Sentence 7 describes a historical fact (kidnapped African people held until sold), and sentence 8 explains the consequence (Walker's work making viewers acknowledge slavery's enormity). "Thus" is appropriate as it shows that the situation in sentence 7 leads to Walker's action in sentence 8. "But", "Regardless", and "Yet" imply contrast, which is not the case here.

Answer:

NO CHANGE