Final answer:
The trade routes significantly affected West African societies by leading to the growth of urban cores with powerful armies to secure slaves, which enriched some chieftains and merchants but caused widespread societal disruption, decimation of populations, and loss of skilled labor and economic self-sufficiency.
Step-by-step explanation:
Among the effects of the trade routes on West African societies, the one that best describes the consequences is the growth of powerful urban cores that used professional armies to increase their territories and enslave people. The intense demand for enslaved Africans to be traded with Europeans led to the prominence of local chieftains and merchants in West Africa. This trade had a stabilizing effect on certain regions by giving rise to a network of West African kingdoms that managed the slave trade. However, it also had destabilizing effects, with heightened warfare necessary to capture more slaves, thus disrupting societal structures and leading to population decline.
While some states profited immensely from the trade, taking the role of middlemen in the supply of slaves to Europeans, this wealth came at a significant cost to the societies overall. African societies were stripped of their kinship networks, skilled labor force, and technological knowledge, leading to a setback in their economic and cultural development. Over time, urban centers like Songhai gained prominence through trade but were later displaced by smaller states that capitalized on direct trade with Europeans.
It is crucial to note that the effects of the trade were not exclusively negative as there were complexities involved. Some local economies and rulers benefited materially, but for most of society, it resulted in a loss of human capital and a decline in indigenous industries. Moreover, with the introduction of European goods, local production suffered and economies became more focused on exporting raw materials rather than developing local industries.