I think biology played a bigger part than just colonization itself. Europe went to the Americas and brought back potatos and a substantial boost in calorie production compared to wheat. Alongside corn, tomatoes, sweet potato. The Americas got smallpox, chickenpox, malaria, typhoid, and a host of other diseases. Europe was much better placed to benefit from this exchange of organisms because of better disease resistance. Northern European farms could grow potato and free up labour to work in factories.