Final answer:
The wealth and resources of African civilizations, along with established trade systems, attracted European colonization and influenced the growth of the slave trade.
Step-by-step explanation:
The wealth and resources of African civilizations made them an attractive target for European colonization and the establishment of the transatlantic slave trade. The rich natural resources, such as gold and diamonds, lured European powers to Africa, where they saw an opportunity to exploit these assets for their own benefit back in Europe. The presence of established trade routes for gold, salt, and slaves indicated to Europeans the potential for lucrative trade.
African kingdoms and societies that already engaged in internal slave trade found a new market with Europeans, who required labor for their colonies in the New World, especially after the native populations were decimated by war and disease introduced by Europeans.
European contact offered new commodities like firearms, which further altered the political and social dynamics in Africa. This increased demand for slaves led African states to wage more wars and conduct raids to capture people to be sold into slavery. As a result, African societies became increasingly militarized and dependent on European goods, which undermined their autonomy and set the stage for European imperialism and colonization.
Furthermore, the Europeans' superior weapons and medical technology allowed them to conquer and subdue African nations, including powerful groups like the Zulu Nation. As European colonization spread, the economic structures within African societies shifted from indigenous goods to a reliance on European trade goods, such as guns and textiles, which symbolized a departure from traditional economic systems and resulted in European economic domination.