Atlantic Slave Trade

The exploitation of land and resources in the New World colonies led to an extensive use of slave labor. As a large part of the indigenous population died from overwork and diseases spread from Europe, the labor shortage soon became problematic. Indentured servitude lessened this somewhat but failed to provide the workforce needed. The solution became the Atlantic slave trade, where slaves captured or bought along the West Africa coast were transported to Brazil. Over 3 million African slaves were sent to Brazil, mainly to work on the vast sugar plantations.