Final answer:
The Atlantic slave trade thrived due to the demand for forced labor on American plantations, generating enormous profits for the European economies and leading to the establishment of a racially based labor system in the European colonies.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Atlantic slave trade grew immensely following the start of the Columbian Exchange due to the high demand for labor in the American colonies for agricultural commodities such as sugar, coffee, rice, and cotton.
Large plantations required a substantial, enduring, and readily identifiable workforce, a role filled by the enslavement of Africans.
The trade was systematic and highly profitable, and African captives were often treated and processed as cargo, leading to a high mortality rate even before they reached the Americas.
The introduction of plantation agriculture in the Americas was a key driver; the success of these plantations was highly dependent on an available and skilled labor force.
The Trans-Atlantic slave trade was transformative because it established a racially based labor system that underpinned the economic vitality of European colonies.
This facilitated the growth of the European economies, though it had a devastating impact on African societies.