Question

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In the seventeenth century, Brazil was one of the world's leading exporters of sugar. This was very profitable for Portugal, which colonized Brazil in the early 1500s. Sugar also caused conflict between European powers trying to control the region, particularly the island of Jamaica.

What was one result of these economic developments during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries?

A.
The transatlantic slave trade grew as Europeans demanded labor for the plantations.

B.
Portugal's power grew and the Spanish lost their colonies in the Americas.

C.
New European agricultural techniques led to rapid indigenous population growth.

D.
Brazil grew economically and gained its independence by revolting against Spain.

Answer 1

A. The transatlantic slave trade grew as Europeans demanded labor for the plantations.

Sugar plantations required large, cheap labor forces, which Europeans met by importing enslaved Africans—leading to a major expansion of the transatlantic slave trade in the 16th and 17th centuries.