Question

slavery began to develop in the americas during the age of exploration because○ plantation owners could no longer afford to pay workers to farm.○ work on plantations was difficult and needed large numbers of workers.○ new plantations grew cotton and workers were injured during picking.○ plantation owners feared contracting diseases if they worked themselves.

Explanation:

During the age of exploration, large-scale plantation agriculture (like sugar, tobacco, later cotton) in the Americas required a huge, reliable labor force for physically demanding, repetitive work. Enslaved people were forced into this labor as a cost-effective, controlled source of workers to meet the demand for large-scale production. The other options are incorrect: plantation owners did not adopt slavery because they couldn't pay workers initially, cotton became a major crop later in the slavery era, and fear of disease was not the core driver.

Answer:

work on plantations was difficult and needed large numbers of workers.