Which text evidence best supports the authors' claim and purpose? "Sugar was the product of the slave and the addiction of the poor factory worker—the meeting place of the barbarism of overseers such as Thomas Thistlewood and the rigid new economy.” "When we talk about Atlantic slavery, we must describe sugar Hell; and yet that is only part of the story." "Africans were the true global citizens—adjusting to a new land, a new religion, even to other Africans they would never have met in their homelands." "And indeed, it was when the enslaved Africans began to speak—in words and in actions—when Europeans began to see them as human, that the Age of Sugar also became the Age of Freedom."

"And indeed, it was when the enslaved Africans began to speak—in words and in actions—when Europeans began to see them as human, that the Age of Sugar also became the Age of Freedom."

Explanation:

Marc Aronson and Marina Budhos' book "Sugar Changed the World" provides an insight into the history of the discovery of the popular spice, sugar. This personal family history from both the authors' generations reveals how much it 'costs' not only financially, but even in human aspects, to have this sweet spice on our tables.

In the given excerpt from the text, the narrators show how the Age of Sugar is a period of transition and also how it involves the slaves and their suffering. It was "the product of the slave and the addiction of the poor factory worker—the meeting place of the barbarism of overseers ... and the rigid new economy". And as such, this part of the production of sugar embodies the Atlantic slavery, which is like the slavery system of the American nation but is hardly noted.

Thus, the text evidence that best supports the authors' claim and purpose is how "the enslaved Africans' ability to speak" presents them as human and changed the "Age of Sugar" to an "Age of Freedom".