Colonial reformers openly rejected making imitation Europeans, seeking perfected natives instead
Evidence
It was in this context that reformers expressed their chilling vision that begins this chapter, one so radically different from the goals they more commonly professed, “not to create imitation Europeans … just … perfected natives.” — Ann Laura Stoler, Along the Archival Grain_ Epistemic…, 774
Categorization
Category: Contrarian or Surprising Claims
- XREF: Connects to the broader colonial commonsense literature on assimilation versus preserving the native as a separate (inferior) category.
Related
- Some colonial observers condemned imitation-Europeans and instead urged preserving native cultural roots. (similarity 0.80)
- Dutch colonial reform targeted poor light-skinned mixed-blood people, not the indigenous (similarity 0.80)
- Legal European status contradicted the label of imitation Europeans (similarity 0.79)
- Scholars attribute flat interiorities to colonial figures they oppose (similarity 0.79)
Broader Connections
- Some late-colonial officials publicly rejected the racial hierarchy of ruler and ruled
#qualifies(0.40) - Colonial reformers’ ethical indignation coexisted with colonial privilege
#complicates(0.35)