Final answer:
Europeans forced Africans to work under brutal conditions, deprived them of profiting from their natural resources, and imposed harsh penalties like hand amputations for failure to meet quotas. The exploitation was part of a larger colonial enterprise aimed at securing resources and wealth for Europe.
Step-by-step explanation:
Europeans, throughout various periods of colonization and imperialism, subjugated Africans and took control of their lands. From the early 1500s, Europeans began enslaving Africans and incorporating them into the trans-Atlantic slave trade, which saw an estimated 12 million African slaves forcibly transported to the Americas. Africans were deprived of profiting from their natural resources, with European powers like the British in South Africa asserting complete control over lucrative resources such as gold and diamonds, forcing Africans to work in mines with no rightful claim to their land's wealth.
Moreover, Europeans, notably in the Congo Free State, exploited Africans for various types of labor, principally for gathering ivory and harvesting rubber, imposing brutal conditions such as the notorious practice of body latex harvesting and hand amputations for those who failed to meet quotas. Ultimately, Africans were compelled to accept low pay or work merely for sustenance while enduring violent tactics designed to suppress any form of resistance to the European imperialistic endeavors.