When Great Britain refrained from conferring a "civilized" status on Africa, it was clearly politically convenient. If a colony was "savage," it was unable to take the reins of power and govern itself. The motivation for civilization, or at least a semblance of it, was usually a motive to make money. Even when traders or officials expressed humanitarian or noble reasons to "civilize" colonies, it was a thin veneer covering other purposes. Although most missionaries were sincere in their motives, they were used by traders and government officials to achieve Great Britain's larger goals of commerce and colonization.
In 1822, explorer William Burchell clearly defined the accepted dichotomy between European civilization and African savagery, asking his readers to contemplate the contrast between "piety with atheism, the philosopher with the rude savage, the monarch with the Chief, luxury with want, philanthropy with lawless rapine" ( William Burchell, Travels in the Interior of Southern Africa (1822-24), qtd. in Jean Comaroff and John Comaroff, Of Revelation and Revolution, vol. 1, Christianity, Colonialism, and Consciousness in South Africa (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1991), 86.) Religious leaders exploited this savage image, stirring up religious fervor and support for the missionary cause. Plates entitled "The Abandoned Mother" depicted two of England's most famous missionaries, Robert Moffat and Dr. David Livingstone, stretching out their hands to an African woman lying on the ground (Comaroff, vol. 1, 110-111.) These illustrated the missionary theme: The English rescuing Africa from its exile from Eden (Comaroff, vol 1, 110-111).
Great Britain judged how "civilized" a colony was by how nearly it conformed to British politics, religion, and economic system. Africa was not the only continent or colony judged "uncivilized" in this regard. Charles Dickens, writing an expository essay denigrating the notion of the "Noble Savage," compared the African tribal war customs to the Irish House of Commons. He also stated that other elements of savage life resembled an Irish election (Charles Dickens, "The Noble Savage" from The Works of Charles Dickens, vol. 34, Reprinted Pieces, The Lamplighter, To Be Read At Dusk, and Sunday Under Three Heads (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1907 [1853]), 126).
South Africa, according to many, was full of "white perverts" (the Boers, of European descent) and "black savages." The British, including the missionaries, regarded them as "rude" (Comaroff, vol. 1, 43). According to British settlers in South Africa, the European-descended Boers had degenerated into barbarism under the influence of the Africans. Clearly, although dark skin indicated a lack of civilization, the English held similar views about other races which were light-skinned, particularly the Irish (Porter, 71). The farther away from London, the farther away from the center of civilization.
