Final answer:
The option stating that African enslavement lasted because Africans wanted to seize opportunities to go to the New World is incorrect. Enslavement was forced, Africans were seen as less susceptible to diseases and provided a reliable source of labor.
Step-by-step explanation:
The correct answer to which of the following is NOT a reason why African enslavement lasted for so long is D) Africans wanted to seize opportunities to go to the New World. This option is not a valid reason because the enslavement of Africans was a forced condition, not a voluntary migration seeking opportunities. Europeans turned to African slaves largely because they were less susceptible to diseases like smallpox, which devastated Indigenous populations, and had a lower mortality rate in the harsh conditions of the New World compared to European indentured servants.
Additionally, European indentured servants, after gaining their freedom, were considered an unreliable source of labor (Option C), whereas Africans could be enslaved for life, guaranteeing a continuous labor supply. Europeans also believed that Africans were more suited to the hard labor due to physical characteristics and the fact that they were unfamiliar with the local terrain, making escape more difficult (Option A and B).
Overall, Europeans were motivated to use African slaves for their agricultural colonies due to economic interests and a combination of perceived advantages over other potential labor sources, such as resistance to disease and lifelong enslavement.