In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries imperialism was rampant. Most of Europe was trying to claim colonies in Asia, Africa, and the Pacific. The desire to acquire prosperity in this manner was rationalized at the time by most colonial powers. This rationalization essentially claimed that the technologically more advanced Europeans had a duty to take on "the white man's burden" as they called it, and bring light and progress to darker countries. The magnitude of the greed that prompted this colonization and the lengths individuals were willing to go to for such prestige a…
