More Solitary Passages Questions - - Question 27

According to the passage, Eltis argues against which one of the following contentions?

Minerva June 17, 2019

Option B

Hello, I can see why C is correct but could someone explain why B is incorrect? Thanks!

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Ravi June 17, 2019

@Minerva,

Happy to help. Let's take a look at (B).

(B) says, "In the early nineteenth century, colonies that employed
forced labor were still economically viable."

We're looking for a contention that Eltis argues against. The problem
with (B) is that we know that Eltis believes that Williams
underestimated the economic viability of the British colonies
employing forced labor in the early 1800s (lines 54-57), so Eltis must
have believed that they were at least a little viable. Thus, (B) is
incorrect, as Eltis did not argue against what (B) is saying.

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