...if you count America in that tally. America was one big raw materials supermarket for conquering and colonizing Europeans.

The Europeans actually emigrated from Europe in great numbers. That's where European cultural dominance comes from: imperialism. A colony here, a colony there, and send the raw materials home to Mother(land). Oh, and don't forget to buy the manufactured items with the "Made In [fill in European nation of your choice here]" label. Or Else.

That was one of the underlying causes of the American Revolution: free trade vs. crown government restraint of trade. Gandhi understood this very well when he began encouraging Indians to manufacture homespun cloth, avoiding the purchase of British textiles.

Europe was almost submerged by the fall of Rome, almost conquered -- twice -- by neighboring Islamic empires, almost destroyed by the Black Death, and almost committed suicide during the religious wars. People fled Europe until quite recently -- only the last hundred years or so. During the Industrial Revolution, some Europeans were actually deported to prison colonies to ease urban overcrowding and crime and political unrest. G'day, mate!

Europe, for much of its history, was a little squirt with big ambitions and a lot of moxie. Lucky for the nations of Europe, America was discovered to act as their supplier of raw materials, safety valve for their population overflow, and market for their manufactured goods.

After America gave notice it was all grown up, the focus turned to other areas of the world. Like the Middle East after World War I. And isn't that just a lovely place to be now?

Regards--
Mary Anne