The closeness of the place, and the heat of the climate, added to the number in the ship, which was so crowded that each had scarcely room to turn himself, almost suffocated us. the air soon became unfit for respiration from a variety of loathsome smells, and brought on a sickness among the slaves, of which many died the shrieks of the women, and the groans of the dying, rendered the whole a scene of horror almost inconceivable
which is described in the text
a: the deaths of a few enslaved people
b: a crowded but cool place
c: the existence of strong smells
d: a small and dark place

the committees of correspondence were the american colonies’ means for maintaining communication lines in the years before the revolutionary war. in 1764, boston formed the earliest committee of correspondence to encourage opposition to britain’s stiffening of customs enforcement and prohibition of american paper money. the following year, new york formed a similar committee to keep the other colonies notified of its actions in resisting the stamp act. in 1773, the virginia house of burgesses proposed that each colonial legislature appoint a committee for intercolonial correspondence. the exchanges that followed built solidarity during the turbulent times and bring about the formation of the first continental congress in 1774.