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 challenge the rules of crowned kings and royal princes. How could that be? Why did people keep speaking of equality while profiting from slaves? In fact, the global hunger for slave-grown sugar led directly to the end of slavery. Following the strand of sugar and slavery leads directly into the tumult of the Age of Revolutions. For in North America, then England, France, Haiti, and once again North America, the Age of Sugar brought about the great, final clash between freedom and slavery.
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.
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The excerpt that best states the authors' claim is:
The global hunger for slave-grown sugar led directly to the end of slavery.
This statement encapsulates the central argument of the passage, which links sugar production and the economic demand for sugar to the perpetuation and eventual abolition of slavery.
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