Why was slave labour used ? 

The expansion of european trade and industry led to a significant demand for labour to produce goods for export, which in turn led to an increase in slavery. The Americans and the Caribbean were thr growing grounds for many of these products, including cotton, rice, tobacco, and sugar cane. Enslaved Africans were used to do the majority of the hard physical labour needed to grow these crops (South African History Online, 2015). 

Plantation owners initially tried to employ native Americans and indentured servants, who worked for a few years in return for land, but this strategy was short-lived. Between 50-90% of the population were indigenous people who perished in epidemics.  As a result, there were not enough people to work the land (SAHO, 2015).  

European planters began to prefer enslaved Africans for several reasons: 

• In contrast to Europeans, Africans had agricultural experience, including the skills and abilities to raise livestock and grow crops like rice. 

• They were thought to be better suited to work in hot, tropical environments. 

• Additionally, the could be owned for life and made to do hard labour with no, they were seen as more "useful" to the growing commercial empire. 

This made slavery and the slave trade siginificant factor in the growth of the Atlantic economy and the European colonies.  The demand for crops grew along with the number of Africans held in slavery.  Slavery had a significant economic impact on both Europe and the Americans in the 1700s (SAHO, 2015).