Why did the slave population in the English west Indies grow so rapidly?

A. Because slaves were allowed to marry and have families

B. Because sugar production is far more labor intensive than tobacco production

C. Because the initial cost of a slave was lower than that of an individual servant

Answer: option (B). Because sugar production is far more labor intensive than tobacco production.

Explanation: Slave grew so rapidly in population in the English West Indies because there were demand for many laborers for the sugar plantation especially. It requires more labor compare to other plantation, hence why slave population grew so rapidly.

As a result of the economic gain derived in this plantations, Britain shipped approximately 3.1 million Africans across the Atlantic Ocean in the Transatlantic slave trade. Africans were forcibly sold as slaves to work on plantations.

The Atlantic slave trade of the 18th century was a new kind of slavery and on a much higher scale than before. The British played a major part in this trade. The west indies plantation owners increasingly turned to African slaves for labour.