I've been reading William DAlhrymple's "The Anarchy", which is a history of the East India Company and how it was pretty much responsible for the initial coloni

I've been reading William DAlhrymple's "The Anarchy", which is a history of the East India Company and how it was pretty much responsible for the initial colonization of India. The simple fact that the colonization started with a commercial organization progressing from trade to flat-out military takeover really should put the lie to claims that the imperial project was somehow done to spread "civilisation". Unfortunately, far too many of my compatriots have a ridiculously rose tinted view of the imperial project. From what I've encountered, it's something shared across most of the old imperial european countries, a view of their imperial periods as some kind of "greatness", rather than just greed and violence. Fun fact: Along with all the wealth the pirates of the EIC bought back with the from India they alo bought the word "loot" which originates in Hindi apprantly.