C. because it was a huge feat that was thought to be impossible till achieved.<span />
4 years passed between the two events
Splitting of families--the passage accounts the selling of children and tearing apart of families at the slave block.
As slaves were not seen as capable of having family relationships, the selling of children was quite common. Children were often ripped from the arms of mothers as soon as the child could be used for labor. The reproduction of children made women valuable and allowed for slave masters and traders to make money off of the females.
Well, the noblemen basically got, "passes", on taxes so everything else below them.
