Since sugar had to pass through many hands before it reached the fairs, it was expensive and hard to get. King Henry III of England, for example, liked sugar. Yet there was little he could do to satisfy his craving. He wrote to one official in 1226 asking if he could possibly obtain three pounds of the precious substance—at a cost of about 450 modern dollars. He later appealed to a mayor, hoping he might be able to get four more pounds of the rare grains. And finally, by 1243, he managed to buy three hundred pounds.
The fairs lasted until the 1300s, when Venice came to dominate European trade with the Muslim world. The Venetians greatly expanded the sugar trade, so much so that a hundred years after Henry III's reign, the English were able to buy thousands of pounds of the sweet stuff each year.
Which inference does this passage support?
Before Venice took over, England dominated European trade with the Muslim world.
King Henry III was unable to buy large amounts of sugar because he was a poor negotiator.
As sugar became increasingly available to the English, they wanted to acquire even more of it.
As sugar became more available to the Venetians, the demand for it started to decrease.
1 answer
The inference that this passage supports is: As sugar became increasingly available to the English, they wanted to acquire even more of it.
The passage discusses how King Henry III had difficulty obtaining sugar due to its rarity and expense, but later on, after Venice dominated the sugar trade, the English were able to buy thousands of pounds of sugar each year. This suggests that as sugar became more available, the demand for it among the English increased.
