French officials dismissed African educated elites as varnished ignoramuses at riot times

Evidence

The civilization of these “intellectuals” the lieutenant governor maintained, was only “a brilliant varnish covering ignorance and fatuousness.” Their demented ambitions, not excessive taxation, had caused the rioting. — Alice L. Conklin, A Mission to Civilize_ The Republican…, 560

Categorization

• XREF: Mirrors the reader’s impatience pattern—colonial dismissal of native capacity repeats in other colonies discussed.