Carol Malone’s comments on GB News praising colonialism sparked outrage. She claimed the world should thank Britain for gifts like education, transport, and sanitation.

This narrative of colonial “benefits” echoes long-standing myths that whitewash the empire’s violence. Historian Walter Rodney, author of How Europe Underdeveloped Africa, called colonialism a system of theft and extraction. His work shows how Europe enriched itself while devastating African societies.

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The Myth of Britain’s Civilizing Mission

Malone’s remarks reveal a disturbing nostalgia for empire. Her argument rests on the belief that colonial rule was benevolent, even beneficial. But the historical record paints a different picture. Colonizers imposed racial hierarchies, forced labor, and economic exploitation across the continent. Congo under Belgian rule saw the slaughter of millions. Germany’s campaign in Namibia was a genocide in all but name. The British in Kenya and southern Africa used violence and land theft to build their wealth.

Academic Kim Wagner has described this defense of empire as a “persecution complex.” He argues that those who glorify colonialism see it as a triumph of white power over “barbarians.” This myth is still deeply ingrained in British identity. It denies that the empire’s so-called civilizing mission was always rooted in racial violence and the plunder of indigenous resources.

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The Role of White Supremacy in Colonial Defense

Revisionists like Malone rely on a carefully crafted narrative. They show improvements in transport or medicine while ignoring the violence that enabled them. Historian Jonathan Saha explains this logic as a “subtle defense of white supremacy.” He argues that praising colonial projects without addressing the racism at their core suggests that such projects are somehow acceptable.

This selective memory sanitizes the past and distorts the present. It frames imperialism as an unfortunate but ultimately progressive force. But evidence shows that colonial rule was a system designed to exploit and control. From stolen diamonds like the Koh-i-Noor to vast land theft across Africa, Britain’s empire enriched itself at the expense of its subjects.

The GB News colonialism segment and Carol Malone’s colonial defence are not just careless talk. They are part of a bigger effort to cover up the violence of colonialism and twist the truth. This is like what some American right-wing voices do when they downplay how bad slavery was, saying Black people were just “workers” or that slavery was not that cruel. In Latin America, some people have also tried to say that Indigenous communities were so violent that European conquest was needed to save them. Historians have spent decades proving these stories are false. They show that British, American, and Spanish colonial rule was built on stealing land, forced labor, and deep racism. Facing these facts is the only way to truly understand what happened. In the end, colonialism did not bring progress—it brought suffering and death.

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