Final answer:
Europe under-developed Africa through colonial exploitation, manipulation of economic systems, and disregard for indigenous development, leading to long-term poverty and structural issues in African societies.
Step-by-step explanation:
According to historian Walter Rodney, Europe under-developed Africa through colonial exploitation and manipulation of African resources and economic systems. European powers established an authoritarian and extractive colonial rule that prioritized resource extraction over indigenous development. Europeans forcibly restructured African societies, stifling the growth of local institutions and economies, marginalizing African participation in global trade, and imposing artificial boundaries that disregarded ethnic and cultural territories.
This exploitation was carried out for the benefit of European economies with little regard for the development of African societies. The need for labor led to the importation of slaves from Africa, further damaging the continent’s social fabric. After independence, African countries continued to struggle to overcome the structural damages and poverty imposed during the colonial period.