By the Eighteenth Century, Many Europeans Began to Try to Provide

Multiple Choice

By the eighteenth century, many Europeans began to try to provide a rationale for the institution of slavery based predominantly on what grounds?

A) Religious beliefs, as many asserted that African "heathens" deserved to be enslaved
B) The purported mental and spiritual inferiority of African people
C) Historical precedent, pointing to slavery as a "natural" practice that dated back to ancient Rome
D) The claim that contact with European religion and culture had a civilizing effect on so-called primitive peoples