Demand for Labor Intensifies

The new global economy also brought about significant disruptions. The Columbian Exchange and the Atlantic System caused a demographic shift in Africa as the Atlantic slave trade intensified. Slavers captured and sold millions of African men. These African men ended up on American plantations, producing cash crops that included sugar, cotton, and tobacco. As a result, some African communities experienced a gender imbalance. Africa’s population declined because of the Atlantic slave trade. Eventually, the population increased as people grew new crops, such as manioc.

Traditional forced labor systems, such as serfdom, continued in areas of Afro-Eurasia. However, other coerced labor systems developed in the Americas as a result of the Columbian Exchange and the Atlantic System, in addition to the chattel slavery of the Atlantic slave trade. Many European settlers first arrived in the Americas as indentured servants, contracted to work for a period of time before they were free to pursue other jobs or occupations. The encomienda and hacienda systems, as well as the adoption of the Inca mit’a system, are examples of other coerced labor systems in the Spanish American colonies.

New Social Structures As Europeans, Africans, and Native Americans coexisted in the new American colonies, the social structures of the Americas changed. New social systems appeared that were based on racial or ethnic identity. This division led to a rigid and hierarchial society, with white Europeans or Americans of European descent possessing the majority of wealth and political power. A new subculture appeared that consisted of people who were of mixed European and African heritage. Societal conflicts eventually led to revolutions.