Question

Why did Europeans in the Caribbean colonies turn to Africans to replace the native peoples as slaves?
A.
They believed that Africans were physically superior.
B.
The preferred Africans as people, and considered them to be culturally more advanced that the native peoples of the Caribbean.
C.
The native populations of the Caribbean had been decimated by European diseases.
D.
African slaves were less expensive than Caribbean slaves.

Please select the best answer from the choices provided.

A
B
C
D

Answer 1

C

The indigenous Caribbean populations were drastically reduced by European-introduced diseases and harsh exploitation, creating a labor shortage that led colonists to import enslaved Africans (who had greater immunity to Old World diseases and were available through the Atlantic slave trade).