Final answer:
During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, Africa played a pivotal role in the global economy through its participation in the trade networks that developed with European exploration, particularly in gold, ivory, and slaves, and later in the expansion of the Triangle Trade that incorporated the Trans-Atlantic slave trade.
Step-by-step explanation:
Africa's role in the global economy during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries was pivotal. At the outset of the Age of Discovery, emerging European explorations and trade networks began with contact with Africa. Trade in gold, ivory, and slaves, initially led by Portuguese exploration, played a significant role in invigorating the European economy. This trade later incorporated the Americas, leading to the Triangle Trade, which included the Trans-Atlantic slave trade. The slave trade saw a dramatic increase from a few thousand people in the sixteenth century to tens of thousands in the seventeenth century, with an annual average of about forty-five thousand people in the following century.