626. Scorched by fire, stained by water, and inscribed in cramped handwriting, the seventeenth-century Dutch documents on the beginnings of New York City were long ignored by historians, depending instead on English sources for information.

(A) the seventeenth-century Dutch documents on the beginnings of New York City were long ignored by historians, depending
(B) the seventeenth-century Dutch documents on the beginnings of New York City were long ignored by historians, who depended
(C) historians long ignored the seventeenth-century Dutch documents on the beginnings of New York City, depending
(D) historians long ignored the seventeenth-century Dutch documents on the beginnings of New York City and depended
(E) historians long ignored the seventeenth-century Dutch documents on the beginnings of New York City, they depended

Solution:

Modifiers

“Scorched by fire, stained…, inscribed…” refer to Dutch documents therefore, “the seventeenth-cent…documents” must come right after the coma.
Hence C, D, and E are incorrect because they start with “historians”.
In A, “depending” incorrectly modifies “seventeenth-century Dutch Documents” instead of
“historians” (not completely sure if this is the reason)
In B, “who depended” correctly modifies historians and hence, B is the best choice.

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