The correct answer is C. Keeping them powerless.
Step-by-step explanation
Slave codes were a set of laws enacted since the seventeenth century to regulate the issue of slavery in the American colonies. Among the central themes of these laws was the transatlantic slave trade. In them, the slave owners had a guide to know their rights and duties as slave owners. Although these codes were promulgated for the entire colony, they were modified through municipal or local mandates according to the context of each one. According to the above, slaves were powerless because the Slaves focused on the slavers and their rights over slaves, also, some of the slavers did not follow their obligations with the slaves. So, the correct answer is C. Keeping them powerless.