Which is the strongest rebuttal to the counterclaim?

Claim: The tea set of the 1840s is the most historically significant object because it represents how supposedly civilized nations built power on slavery.

Counterclaim: By the time tea rose in popularity, Britain had already abolished slavery.

A) However, Neil MacGregor states that the tea set is "a three-piece social history of nineteenth-century Britain."
B) Even so, Britain traded with countries that allowed slavery, such as Cuba, which provided the sugar that people in England demanded for their tea.
C) While that is true, Britain still sought to develop tea plantations in Sri Lanka, creating jobs for workers overseas.