The first object which saluted my eyes when I arrived on the coast was the sea, and a slave-ship…. These filled me with astonishment, which soon converted into terror…. They made ready with many fearful Moises, and we were all put under deck…. now that the whole ship’s cargo was confined together [the stench of the hold] was absolutely pestilential. The closeness of the place and the heat of the climate, added to the number in the ship, which was so crowded that each had scarcely room to turn himself, almost suffocated us…. This is wretched situation was again aggravated by the falling of the chains, now become insupportable; and the filth of the [latrines], into which the children often fell and were almost suffocated. The shrieks of the women, and the groans of the dying, rendered the whole a scene of horror almost inconceivable. -Olaudah Equiano, The interesting Narrative of the life of Olaudah Equiano, 1789 Which of the following best explains the rise of the slave trade during this period?