Answer:
The statement which best summarizes the central idea of the paragraph is:
B. There are three ways for a prince to hold a newly acquired state that is accustomed to freedom: ruin it, live there, or create an oligarchy that is loyal to him - and the third way is the easiest.
Explanation:
"The Prince" is a book published in 1532 by Niccolò Machiavelli, an Italian statesman and and political philosopher born in 1469.
As we can see in the excerpt, Machiavelli is discussing the ways a conqueror can maintain a conquered land under his control, especially if the people from that land are used to being free and to having their own government. <u>According to him, there are 3 ways: "to ruin them, . . . to reside (live) there in person, . . . and establishing an oligarchy which will keep it friendly to you."</u>
<u>The third way is the easiest one. The conqueror would be using the land's own people and politicians in his favor. With that in mind, we can choose letter B as the best option.</u>
