In your own words, explain how the Columbian Exchange led to the Atlantic slave trade
The Columbian Exchange was the exchange of goods, ideas, plants, animals, and diseases between the Old World (Europe, Africa, and Asia) and the New World (the Americas) following Christopher Columbus's voyages to the Americas in 1492. This exchange had a significant impact on global history and led to the Atlantic slave trade.
The Columbian Exchange introduced new crops and resources to Europe, such as potatoes, corn, and tobacco, while also decimating indigenous populations in the Americas due to diseases brought over by Europeans. As a result, European colonizers turned to the African continent for labor to exploit the resources of the Americas.
The demand for labor in the Americas, particularly in industries like mining and agriculture, led to the rise of the Atlantic slave trade. European powers engaged in the transatlantic slave trade, forcibly capturing and transporting millions of Africans to the Americas to work on plantations and in other industries.
In summary, the Columbian Exchange created a demand for labor in the Americas, which ultimately led to the exploitation and enslavement of Africans through the Atlantic slave trade.