Which best explains why some plantation owners punished enslaved persons?
a. to get them to produce more crops
b. to keep them as as possible
c. to force them to work harder
d. to be able to trade them

B. To keep them as helpless as possible.

Explanation:

The slaves outnumbered the owners which everyone knew. The owners decided the only way to counter this threat was to keep the spirits and the threat of revolution as low as possible. It was to show how was "in charge."

letter a is the answer