In many developing countries, the early institutions of colonial rule were directly set up
for the purposes of surplus extraction. There would be variation, of course, depending
on whether the areas were sparsely or densely populated to begin with, or whether
there was large-scale availability of mineral deposits. Resource deposits certainly favored
large-scale extractive industry (as in parts of South America), while soil and weather
conditions might encourage plantation agriculture, often with the use of slave labor (as
in the Caribbean). On the other hand, a high preexisting population density would favor
extraction of a different hue: the setting-up of institutional systems to acquire rents (the
British colonial approach in large parts of India).