Final answer:
The plantation system, slave trade, and spread of slavery were directed by exploration and colonization, with economic incentives like the agrarian and industrial revolutions bolstering the demand for labor and leading to increased slavery.
Step-by-step explanation:
The development of the plantation system, the growth of the slave trade, and the spread of slavery can be attributed to exploration and colonization (c). This process was deeply intertwined with the economic expansions of the time, including the agrarian and industrial revolutions. The plantation system emerged as a way to produce the vast quantities of raw materials required by European industries, and this created a high demand for labor, which was met through the growth of the transatlantic slave trade.
Once slavery was institutionalized, it became a foundational element of the economy, particularly with the cultivation of cotton. This is evident in the innovations like Eli Whitney's cotton gin, which made cotton production more profitable and thereby increased the reliance on slave labor. The abolition of the foreign slave trade did not lead to a decrease in slavery; instead, it spurred the growth of a domestic slave trade as seen from 1807 onwards.
Furthermore, the development and dependency on slave labor influenced colonial attitudes, social hierarchies, and even justified further expansion and colonization for more resources, as European powers sought to maintain their industrial dominance.