The Following Questions Refer to the Excerpt Below

The following questions refer to the excerpt below.
"Therefore…enacted…that noe person or persons whatsoever within this Province,or the Islands,Ports,Harbors,Creekes,or havens thereunto belonging professing to believe in Jesus Christ,shall from henceforth bee any waies troubled,Molested or discountenanced for or in respect of his or her religion nor in the free exercise thereof within this Province or the Islands thereunto belonging nor any way compelled to the belief or exercise of any other religion against his or her consent…"
Maryland Toleration Act,April 21,1649
-Which of the following was most likely a causal factor in the development of the kind of legislation seen in the excerpt?

A) The emergence of a trans-Atlantic print culture
B) Changes in gender roles in the middle colonies as women became politically active
C) The clash between European settlers and Native Americans
D) British efforts to restrain the colonies and impose imperial policies