Answer:
The production of cash crops, particularly tobacco, sugar, and cotton, initially justified the importation of enslaved peoples from Africa into the Americas.
Step-by-step explanation:
Enslaved Africans were seen as a source of labor because they were considered to be physically strong and resistant to diseases like malaria and yellow fever, which were common in the tropical climates where many of the plantations were located. Additionally, Europeans had already established a slave trade network across the Atlantic that had been in operation for several centuries by the time they began colonizing the Americas.
The transatlantic slave trade, which lasted from the 16th to the 19th centuries, saw millions of Africans forcibly taken from their homes and transported across the Atlantic to work on plantations in the Americas. The trade was fueled by the European demand for labor and the availability of African captives who were sold into slavery by African rulers and traders. The legacy of slavery and the slave trade continues to have a profound impact on the social, economic, and political systems of the Americas.