Final answer:
African slavery in the New World differed fundamentally from past instances of slavery and other systems of labor in the same era in terms of chattel slavery, scale and racial basis, and economic motivations.
Step-by-step explanation:
African slavery in the New World differed fundamentally from past instances of slavery and other systems of labor in the same era in several ways. Firstly, chattel slavery, the system used in the New World, treated enslaved Africans as personal property, depriving them of basic human rights and subjecting them to lifelong bondage. In contrast, previous systems of slavery or labor, such as indentured servitude or serfdom, usually had a limited term of servitude or certain rights for the laborers. Secondly, the transatlantic slave trade brought millions of Africans forcibly to the New World, creating a large-scale, racially-based system of exploitation and oppression. Lastly, the New World slavery system was driven by the economic demand for labor in colonial plantations, particularly in the production of cash crops like sugar, tobacco, and cotton.