Sugar plantations were Hell because of the endless labor they demanded from slaves. They were Hell because of the many dangers and the injuries that they caused. They were Hell because the slaves who labored without end got nothing for their work—except to live another day, to work more. But none of these miseries was the true reason the plantations were so evil. The plantations were Hell because the masters and overseers were treated as gods—which turned them into devils. The English historian Lord Acton famously said, “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” That is a perfect description of sugar Hell. Men with absolute power over their slaves acted like creatures we would otherwise meet only in nightmares. Their cruelty had no limit—they preferred to kill their slaves rather than fear them. As Equiano explained, the island of Montserrat “requires 20,000 new Negroes annually, to fill up the vacant places of the dead.”
–Sugar Changed the World,
Marc Aronson and Marina Budhos
How does the authors’ word choice contribute to the claim in this passage?
The denotations of words help explain how plantations ran smoothly.
The repetition of several key words creates a positive view of slaveholders.
The connotations of several words create a neutral view of working conditions.
The repetition and connotations of words emphasizes that slaveholders were merciless.