Question

What are the effects of the words chosen by the authors of Sugar Changed the World? Check all that apply.

They underscore the importance of the slave trade in the Americas.
They create sympathy for the living conditions of enslaved Africans.
They minimize the impact that the sugar trade had on the African people.
They compare the lives of enslaved people with the lives of free people.
They provide a metaphor for the bitterness and sweetness of the sugar trade.

Answer 1

Correct answers: 1, 2, 4, 5.

- 1 (Yes) — the language emphasizes how central the slave trade was to sugar production in the Americas.
- 2 (Yes) — descriptions of conditions are chosen to evoke sympathy for enslaved Africans.
- 4 (Yes) — the authors set the lives of enslaved people against those of free consumers/Europeans, creating a contrast.
- 5 (Yes) — they use taste imagery (sweetness/bitterness) as a metaphor for the profitable product versus its human cost.

- 3 (No) — the authors do not minimize the impact; they highlight and condemn it.