Why did the use of African people as slaves increase in the Americas during the 1500s?
Responses
Native Americans did not know how to harvest sugar cane.
Native Americans did not know how to harvest sugar cane.
Portuguese colonists needed people to labor in their clothing factories.
Portuguese colonists needed people to labor in their clothing factories.
It was more efficient to import people from Africa than from other places.
It was more efficient to import people from Africa than from other places.
Native American populations had declined
due to disease and mistreatment by European settlers.
The Atlantic slave trade had already begun and there was a large supply of enslaved Africans available for purchase.
Africans were seen as physically stronger and more suited for hard labor in the tropical climate of the Americas.
Africans were also less likely to escape due to geographic reasons, such as unfamiliarity with the land and language barriers.
Additionally, the profitability of plantations, particularly in the Caribbean and Brazil, increased the demand for laborers, leading to a greater reliance on African slavery.