Final answer:
During the era of sugar plantations, the majority of enslaved workers were brought from Africa to work in the Caribbean and Brazil, forming the backbone of an economy heavily reliant on the cultivation and processing of sugarcane.
Step-by-step explanation:
The majority of enslaved workers during the era of sugar plantations were brought from Africa to labor in the Caribbean and Brazil. The introduction of sugar as a lucrative cash crop significantly increased the demand for labor, leading to the horrific Atlantic slave trade. Enslaved individuals were forced to engage in the intensive agricultural labor of cultivating, harvesting, and processing sugarcane under brutal conditions.
This constant demand for labor bolstered the slave trade as plantation owners required a continuous influx of enslaved Africans to maintain sugar production levels. High mortality rates due to the harsh working conditions and inhumane treatment meant that the turnover was incredibly high, necessitating constant importation of new enslaved people.
Over the centuries, this led to an exponential increase in the Atlantic slave trade, with the scale reaching tens of thousands of individuals forcibly transported per year. These individuals were primarily sent to work on sugar plantations throughout the Caribbean and Brazil, two locations that accounted for the majority of enslaved labor within the sugar industry.
This demand for labor transformed the economic landscape and reinforced the grueling institution of slavery, marked by numerous atrocities and human suffering.