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Difficulty: EasyDistinguishing Main Point from Subsidiary Points

In analyzing the development of modern contract law, many legal scholars point to the Industrial Revolution as the primary catalyst for change. According to this view, the shift from agrarian economies to industrialized urban centers necessitated new legal frameworks to manage complex business transactions. However, this conventional perspective overlooks the crucial role of early maritime trade in the Mediterranean. Long before the widespread use of steam power, Mediterranean merchants had already established sophisticated legal instruments, such as the *commenda* and bills of exchange, to mitigate risk and allocate profits across international borders. These early maritime practices laid the conceptual groundwork for mutual obligation and limited liability. Therefore, it is more accurate to view the evolution of contract law not as a sudden response to 19th-century industrialization, but rather as a gradual adaptation of much older maritime legal traditions.

Which one of the following most accurately expresses the main point of the passage?

  1. Modern contract law evolved primarily from early Mediterranean maritime trade practices rather than emerging suddenly during the Industrial Revolution.Answer
  2. B
    The *commenda* and bills of exchange laid the conceptual groundwork for mutual obligation and limited liability in modern business.
  3. C
    The shift from agrarian economies to industrialized urban centers necessitated new legal frameworks to manage complex business transactions.
  4. D
    Steam power and the Industrial Revolution were necessary for the development of early maritime legal traditions.
  5. E
    International trade and commerce have always required the continual adaptation of older legal traditions into new frameworks.

Answer

The main point is that modern contract law evolved primarily from early Mediterranean maritime trade practices rather than emerging suddenly during the Industrial Revolution.
The correct answer synthesizes the author's core conclusion. The passage introduces a conventional view in the first two sentences, pivots with 'However' in the third sentence, provides evidence about Mediterranean merchants, and concludes explicitly with 'Therefore...' in the final sentence. The correct choice accurately summarizes this final, overarching conclusion.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the author's primary argument and its location in the passage.
The author argues against the conventional view that the Industrial Revolution created modern contract law, stating in the final sentence that it was a 'gradual adaptation of much older maritime legal traditions.'
Finding the main conclusion is essential to determining the overarching main point of the passage.
2
Evaluate the answer choices against the identified main conclusion.
The correct answer accurately synthesizes this final conclusion, while the distractors represent opposing views, specific evidence, or overly broad generalizations.
This ensures the selected option encompasses the entire passage's intent rather than just a part of it.

Key Concept

Distinguishing the author's overarching thesis from supporting evidence and attributed viewpoints.
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Topics

Distinguishing Main Point from Subsidiary Points

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