What that meant was that they were looking forward to saving the Union itself more than saving the African-Americans. There were slave states that had not yet seceded and insulting them might cause them to leave. This is why they said that they were protecting the constitution, they wanted to keep territorial integrity and sovereignty, more than they wanted to free the slaves.
The articles created a very weak government, giving the states most of the power. So, go with B.
The general relationship between Europe and Africa after 1450 was highly "extractive," in that ever since the discovery of Africa (and especially after the discovery of the New World), European nations colonized Africa in order to cultivate as many natural resources as possible.
