Which of the following contributed most to the expansion of the transatlantic slave trade during the 1700s? a) a lack of skilled labor in the american colonies b) demand for slaves in the american colonies that produced cash crops c) a lack of protective tariffs in the american colonies d) demand for slaves in the industrialized american colonies i will give brainliest for the correct answer

Demand for slaves in the American colonies that produced cash crops (B) contributed most to the expansion of transatlantic slave trade.

There was a massive demand for slave labor in the 1700s because of the growth of cash crops like tobacco, sugar, and cotton. The enslaved people were taken to Americas to work on plantations. There was high demand of transatlantic slave trade in the 17th century.

The Europeans and Americas looked towards Africa for slaves to work in their plantations, they believe the Africans  were unlikely to die from the European diseases like their natives and were also less likely to escape.

This transatlantic slave trade began with the Portuguese, it is recorded that about 12.5 million were enslaved from African with about 2.5 million of them loosing their liveson the way.

Thus, the increase in demand for cash crops led to the expansion of transatlantic slave trade in the 1700s.

Read more on transatlantic slave trade link

The correct answer is - B) Demand for slaves in the American colonies that produced cash crops.

Initially, the European settlers in the Americas planned on using the native populations as labor force on their large plantations with cash crops. That didn't turned out as planned, as most of the native people died out because of the diseases that the Europeans brought, so they faced with a situation to have huge plantations and almost no labor force.

The Portuguese were the first that saw opportunity in the African slaves, as they saw that the stronger tribes have loads of them, and they were also willing to sell them. The word quickly spread out, and all the other colonial powers rushed to get some African slaves. The stronger African tribes saw an opportunity too to become wealthier, so the slave trade quickly developed.

i think the answer is a and i hope this ; ))