Sentence:  Poor where they had once <WSD>been</WSD> rich , humbled where they had been arrogant , having no longer any hope of sharing in the leadership of the nation , the rebels who would not surrender in spirit drew comfort from the sympathy they felt extended to them by the mother country . 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  have the quality of being; (copula, used with an adjective or a predicate noun)