The answer you are looking for is World System Theory. Take the scramble for Africa for example, European nations fought over land and resources, is the continent of Africa thriving now? Very few nations in the region have developed economies and industry.
That idea is known as underdevelopment and dependence.
Explanation:
The situation of underdevelopment is not just the factor that results from economic factors; It is a set of economic and non-economic elements, external and internal to the country, that impede development. The economic policies of underdeveloped countries have very narrow margins of maneuver. Its limitations are explained by the dependence, that is, the commercial dependence of developed countries, in which they carry out protectionist practices against the products of these underdeveloped countries; the technological dependence of an external model, designed for the huge industrial groups; the financial dependence of an external monetary and financial system, mainly in the hands of the main industrialized countries.
