Yale professor Karuna Mantena has argued that the civilising mission did not last long , for she says that benevolent reformers were the losers in key debates , such as those following the 1857 rebellion in India , and the scandal of Edward Eyre 's brutal repression of the Morant Bay rebellion in Jamaica in 1865 . The rhetoric continued but it became an alibi for British misrule and racism . No longer was it believed that the natives could truly make progress , instead , they had to be ruled by heavy hand , with democratic opportunities postponed indefinitely . As a result : The central tenets of liberal imperialism were challenged as various forms of rebellion , resistance and instability in the colonies precipitated a broad-ranging reassessment .... the equation of ' good government ' with the reform of native society , which was at the core of the discourse of liberal empire , would be subject to mounting scepticism . English historian Peter Cain , has challenged Mantena , arguing that the imperialists truly believed that British rule would bring to the subjects the benefits of ‘ ordered liberty ’ , thereby Britain could fulfil its moral duty and achieve its own greatness . Much of the debate took place in Britain itself , and the imperialists worked hard to convince the general population that the civilising mission was well under-way . This campaign served to strengthen imperial support at home , and thus , says Cain , to bolster the moral authority of the gentlemanly elites who ran the Empire
Morant Bay rebellion
Morant Bay rebellion
British Raj