Final answer:
Slavery was increasingly linked to race as English colonists viewed all peoples of African descent as non-Christian (option a), and colonial laws made associations based on race which reduced Africans to an inferior status and justified their enslavement.
Step-by-step explanation:
One of the reasons the status of slavery increasingly was linked with race is that English settlers considered all peoples of African descent to be non-Christian. This view was a reflection of the pervasive racial biases and justifications for enslaving Africans. The involvement of European nations in the enslavement of Africans led to the association of 'race' with slavery, further codified by racist laws and social systems like the sistema de castas. English colonists, by the late seventeenth century, began to rely on enslaved Africans heavily for labor, especially in agriculture. This reliance, coupled with colonial laws, led to a distinction between European and African ancestry, with the latter being associated with enslavement and considered to be inferior.
Racial hierarchies were established to rationalize and perpetuate the enslavement of Africans, further linking the notion of race with the status of slavery. The slave economies developed a dependency on Africans' labor, with laws enacted ensuring that the enslavement status was heritable, deepening the bond between race and slavery. Over time, this led to a shared racial bond and identity among white colonists, who perceived themselves as superior to enslaved Black people.