Given the following passage  "Treaties formed an important part of European colonization and, in many parts of the world, Europeans attempted to legitimize their sovereignty by signing treaties with indigenous peoples. In most cases these treaties were in extremely disadvantageous terms to the native people, who often did not appreciate the implications of what they were signing.",  answer the following question. Note that the answer is present within the text.  Question: Who did the Europeans try to exploit?
Answer:
native people