Linking the prosperity of Nantes and Bordeaux with slave trade raises which moral question?

Correct answer: Whether commercial profit was based on human suffering

The direct answer is A: whether commercial profit was based on human suffering. Nantes and Bordeaux became prosperous port cities through Atlantic commerce, including commerce connected with the slave trade and plantation goods. The important moral question is whether wealth earned through buying, transporting, selling, and exploiting enslaved people can be considered just. A is correct because it connects economic prosperity with the suffering and loss of freedom experienced by enslaved people. This question teaches that a city’s wealth should not be studied only as a success story; we must also ask who paid the human price. B is wrong because the height or location of ports does not raise the central moral issue. C is wrong because whether a king grew coffee is unrelated to the connection between port wealth and slavery. D is wrong because women’s clubs were not the explanation for the prosperity of these ports, and the option distracts from the slavery question. The reasoning is: port trade brought money; part of that trade supported slavery and plantations; enslaved people suffered; therefore profit and morality came into conflict. A useful exam cue is to write both sides: commercial prosperity on one side and human freedom and dignity on the other.