What arrival opened up a new market for enslaved Africans?

The arrival of European colonizers in the Americas, particularly after Christopher Columbus's voyage in 1492, opened up a new market for enslaved Africans. The establishment of plantations for cash crops like sugar, tobacco, and later cotton created a high demand for labor, leading to the transatlantic slave trade. This resulted in millions of Africans being forcibly transported to the New World to work under brutal conditions, fundamentally shaping the economy and society of the Americas.