Final answer:
Trade-related conflicts between Europeans and Africans heightened due to the demand for enslaved people and European goods, the militarization of African states, and the destructive impact on African industries such as textiles and metalworking.
Step-by-step explanation:
Issues with trade escalated conflicts between Europeans and Africans due to several intertwined economic and social effects. The intense demand for enslaved people in European markets led to an increase in inter-African conflicts as different groups and kingdoms raided each other to capture people for trade. The arrival of Europeans along African coasts, namely Portuguese in regions like Whydah, shifted the focus of trans-Saharan trade toward the coastal slave markets, putting many African cities in a position where they had nothing to offer but captives in exchange for European goods.
Developments during the Age of Discovery transformed slave trade dynamics and heightened conflicts. This reshaped traditional African economic systems and shifted the societal balance, often leading to militarization and wars over resources that could be traded for European wares such as firearms, textiles, and other manufactured goods. The destruction of local industries like textiles and metal works in Africa due to European imports is another example of how trade issues led to conflicts and societal disruption in African societies.
Finally, the need for guns and other trade goods forced many African societies into a vicious cycle, where acquiring captives to maintain trade became a necessity for survival and power, further escalating regional conflicts.