Final answer:
By 1700, the British Caribbean annually exported nearly fifty million pounds of sugar, which was the most crucial commodity in the Atlantic World, much sought after in Europe.
Step-by-step explanation:
By 1700, the British Caribbean was heavily involved in the production of cash crops for export, with the particularly intense cultivation of sugar cane in the region. Thanks to the high European demand for sugar, there was a significant increase in its production, leading to an influx of enslaved labor. As a result, the annual export of sugar from the British Caribbean by the end of the 17th century increased considerably. In 1650, Barbados alone shipped about five thousand tons of sugar to England, and by 1700 the quantity had significantly grown due to the widespread creation of sugar plantations across various Caribbean Islands like Jamaica and Barbados.
It is clear that sugar drove the world slave trade and was the most crucial commodity in the Atlantic World during that period. The British colonies in the Caribbean were mainly focused on the production of sugar, which was a labor-intensive process requiring many enslaved Africans to grow, harvest, and process sugarcane. The final products, sugar, and molasses, became central to the trade relationships within the British Empire and beyond.