Question

The passage implies that which of the following was the primary reason why the Tokugawa shoguns turned to city merchants for help in financing the state?

• A. A series of costly wars had depleted the national treasury.
• B. Most of the country's wealth appeared to be in city merchants' hands.
• C. Japan had suffered a series of economic reversals due to natural disasters such as floods.
• D. The merchants were already heavily indebted to the shoguns

Answer 1

The correct option is B

Most of the country's wealth appeared to be in city merchants' hands.

In the second paragraph, the author explains that, as the government revenue partly depended on Shoguns’ revenue, they had to look for options to increase their income. All the options except commerce were not feasible for reasons explained by the author. This meant that the city merchants enjoyed a very comfortable economic position which made the Shoguns approach the merchants. This is clear from the lines “Most of the …the state”. Therefore, answer option (b) clearly stands out as the right answer choice.