Final answer:
The transatlantic slave trade experienced changes and continuities from 1450 to 1750. The trade grew in magnitude as the demand for labor increased in the Americas, and European powers engaged in slave trading. African kingdoms also played a role in the trade, generating captives through wars of conquest. The trade disrupted the trans-Saharan trade network and saw an increase in the number of captives being moved along trade routes.
Step-by-step explanation:
The transatlantic slave trade underwent several changes and continuities from 1450 to 1750. In terms of changes, the trade significantly grew in magnitude as the need for labor in the Americas increased. European powers, such as Portugal, Spain, England, France, and the Netherlands, engaged in slave trading to acquire African captives who were then transported to the Americas.
One continuity was the involvement of African kingdoms in the trade. African kingdoms like Dahomey and Segou engaged in wars of conquest to generate captives for European slavers. Additionally, the trade disrupted the historical trans-Saharan trade network, as traders redirected their focus towards the coastal slave markets.
Overall, the transatlantic slave trade saw growth in the number of captives being moved along trade routes and doubled in scope between the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries to an estimated 900,000 enslaved people.