Factors are:
- <u>The land was well suited for sugar plantations.</u>
- <u>Sugar was easy to load on ships and transport to Europe.</u>
- <u>Sugar was in high demand.</u>
The sugar cane was well suited for the conditions in western South America, the climate was excellent for it, and soil as well, and that contributed to creating large plantations that were giving excellent amounts of sugar. A big advantage was also that the sugar was easy for storage and even easier for transportation on ships, and the ever growing demand in Europe for this product made the Portuguese lot of wealth.
Not factors are:
- Sugar crops did not require hard labor.
- European traders had no experience trading with Africans.
- Portuguese laborers agreed to work in plantations only if sugar was grown.