Final answer:
The production and export of commodities such as palm oil from Sub-Saharan Africa did indeed contribute to the economic advantage of European and American economies, as this was part of a larger system of global trade fueled by slave labor. Other commodities like sugar, cotton, and tobacco similarly played crucial roles in this economic advantage.
Step-by-step explanation:
The statement that palm oil produced in Sub-Saharan Africa and exported to European countries contributed to European and American economic advantage is True. The production of palm oil, among other commodities that contributed to global trade, played a significant role in the economies of many African countries, which were structured primarily around the export of such commodities. Not only palm oil but also other goods like sugar, cotton, and tobacco were produced under the colonial systems that utilized the labor of enslaved people from Africa, which were then exported to Europe, creating substantial profits for European merchants while impacting the societies and environments where these commodities were produced.
In the context of historical significance, the cultivation of crops such as sugar had a profound economic importance, similar to that of oil today, and it triggered the expansion of the African slave trade in the 1700s. Large numbers of enslaved workers ensured that the production costs on plantations in the New World remained low, thereby feeding the factories of Europe with crucial raw materials. These materials became inputs for European industries and fueled capitalist expansion, which is exemplified by the significant quantities of slave-produced agricultural goods that were imported into Britain in the 1800s.
In addition to disrupting indigenous economic systems in Africa, the increased reliance on European goods and the shift to European mercantile systems changed the economic landscape of African societies and made them dependent on the trade of human lives for European goods, which included commodities and weaponry. This interconnected global trade system substantially contributed to the economic advantage of the European and American economies at the expense of African societies.