> You're implying that the colonial powers got rich by taking natural resources from Africa and forcing Africans to work without pay. I don't interpret the OP

> You're implying that the colonial powers got rich by taking natural resources from Africa and forcing Africans to work without pay. I don't interpret the OP comment as restricted to Africa - e.g. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Encomienda https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Encomienda in Spanish colonies.