Final answer:
The increase in the African population around 1680 was due to social adaptations like polygyny, women assuming male economic roles, and the introduction of American crops like corn and manioc which supported larger populations, even in the face of population losses from the Atlantic slave trade.
Step-by-step explanation:
Explanation of the Increase in the African Population Around 1680
The increase in the African population around 1680 can be largely attributed to the implications of the Atlantic slave trade and the resulting social changes within African societies. During the period following the shattering of Songhai in 1591 and with the establishment of the Royal African Company in 1672, the trade in enslaved Africans expanded dramatically. This surge in the slave trade led to a significant decrease in the number of young adult men in many African communities.
To compensate for the loss of labor and to mitigate the population decrease caused by the slave trade, many African societies adopted polygyny, allowing men to take multiple wives. This, in turn, could have contributed to an uptick in births and a subsequent increase in population. The slave trade also altered the economic roles within these communities, necessitating that women took on traditionally male economic roles due to the significant depletion of the young male population.
It is important to consider that while the Atlantic slave trade had a devastating impact, and despite the immense loss of life and forced migration, the introduction of American staples like corn and manioc to Africa facilitated a population boom that eventually exceeded the losses experienced due to the trade. Therefore, the growth in population by 1680 can partly be understood as a complex result of social adaptations in response to the profound impacts of the slave trade, married with the introduction of new agricultural products that supported larger populations.