Final answer:
Wealth in many West African societies was often measured by the number of slaves owned. The transatlantic slave trade and the Southern U.S. economy relied heavily on enslaved labor for producing cash crops such as cotton. The economic benefits of slavery were opposed by moral considerations, leading to ideological divides and conflicts such as the Civil War.
Step-by-step explanation:
The entity who had the most money and slaves typically would have been among the wealthiest and most powerful figures in their respective societies, such as landowners or kings. The land itself often had little value due to its abundance, but what the land produced, and the enslaved labor that worked the land, were highly valuable. The number of slaves one owned was a direct measure of wealth in many West African societies, and during the era of the transatlantic slave trade, industries such as sugar, tobacco, and cotton cultivation were major drivers of slavery.
In the United States, the institution of slavery became deeply intertwined with the Southern economy, where crops like cotton, which drove the US slave market after the invention of the cotton gin in the 1790s, relied on the forced labor of enslaved people. The economic benefit derived from slavery was opposed to moral considerations and other economic structures of the North, leading to a national divide and the eventual Civil War. The motivations behind enslavement and the accumulation of wealth through this practice varied, including economic gain, political power, and social status among others.