Final answer:
The growth of the European sugar market was spurred by European merchants establishing sugar plantations in the Americas and the subsequent increase in demand for enslaved laborers. The profitability and demand for sugar played a significant role in the expansion of the Atlantic slave trade. The introduction of sugarcane as a cash crop in the Americas also influenced the enslavement of Africans.
Step-by-step explanation:
The growth of the European sugar market was spurred by several factors. Firstly, European merchants developed a highly profitable system of production and consumption based on sugar. As European consumers developed a taste for sugar in the 17th century, European merchants established sugar plantations in the Americas, using enslaved people as labor. This resulted in the exponential growth of sugar production.Additionally, the demand for sugar in Europe led to an increase in the demand for enslaved laborers in the sugar plantations of Brazil and the Caribbean. Enslaved Africans were forcefully brought to these regions to work in the cultivation and processing of sugar cane. The European demand for sugar and the profitability of the sugar trade played a significant role in the expansion of the Atlantic slave trade.The introduction of sugarcane as a cash crop in the Americas also motivated the Spanish to enslave Africans, as they needed a large and controllable workforce to maximize profit and compete in the sugar market.