Why is it incomplete to see opposition to abolition only as opposition of ideas?

Correct answer: Because the large economic profits from the slave trade and plantations also motivated opposition

Opposition to abolition was not merely an ideological debate. Merchants and plantation owners earned substantial profits from the slave trade and from plantation crops such as sugar and coffee, so they had an economic interest in resisting abolition. Option B is incorrect because abolition cannot be treated as an immediate cause of increased colonial production. Exam tip: Link the slavery question in the French Revolution to both human rights and economic interests.