More often than not, affluent countries get blinded by greed and will do anything to be even more prosperous. In the early 19th Century, before the industrial revolution, European countries were occupying areas that had precious metals, slaves, and tropical products. They established colonies for European men along the coast of North America and set up trading posts and forts by sending in military to make sure they sent as much existing world trade as was feasible to European merchants. They went in, saw that the natives were talented and forced them to produce for Europe's benefit. The expansions during this time fell into one of three categories or a mix: the Europeans either removed indigenous people by killing them off, forced them into specially reserved areas to provide room for the settlers who would later develop the lands under the same social system they came from or they overthrew the indigenous people and transformed their existing societies to suit the changing needs of the more powerful nations. .
Today, there are small civilizations of these tribes in South America and North America, but they live in extreme poverty. These countries and (more specifically) these villages are not "underdeveloped". They have everything they need; they simply lack opportunity, resources, and education. In America, especially, we have an overabundance of all of those things, and we should share. From a business standpoint, these people are so knowledgeable about so many things, and are eager and more than willing to learn more. They could teach us so much if we stopped to listen. When I was speaking with one of the men I worked with in Guatemala, he wanted to learn English, even if it was just a few words. Also, the fence we were helping them build took us almost a whole week (with one hand drill, a few hammers and bent nails) but that man and a few others could have done it in a day or two.
