Final answer:
Europeans introduced sugar to regions in the Americas that included the Caribbean, Brazil, and southern North America, leading to the development of large sugar plantations dependent on enslaved African labor.
Step-by-step explanation:
The regions in the Americas where Europeans introduced sugar production beginning in the late 15th century were primarily the Caribbean, parts of South America especially Brazil, and the southernmost parts of North America. After Columbus brought sugarcane to Hispaniola in 1493, other tropical areas soon became centers of sugar production, with the Spanish and Portuguese leading the way. These European powers created vast sugar plantations, a labor-intensive industry that was closely tied to the forced labor of enslaved Africans brought to the Americas in large numbers to work on these plantations.
Throughout the 1500s and the following centuries, the demand for sugar and thereby for enslaved labor grew exponentially. The Portuguese, Spanish, British, French, Dutch, and Danes were engaged in the transatlantic slave trade, bringing African slaves to work on the sugar plantations in the Caribbean, Brazil, and other areas suited for sugar cultivation. This trade became increasingly lucrative due to the high demand for sugar in Europe, eventually impacting global commerce and economies significantly.