Yale professor Karuna Mantena has argued that the civilizing 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 Governor 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 : 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 fulfill 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 underway . 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
Historiography of the British Empire