One reason that Europeans offered for their imperial policies was the idea of "civilizing" and "modernizing" the people and territories they were colonizing. Europeans believed they had a moral obligation to bring their superior technology, governance, and culture to "uncivilized" parts of the world, and that by doing so, they were improving the lives of the people they were colonizing. This concept was often used to justify the exploitation of natural resources and the forced conversion of indigenous peoples to Christianity.
