As presented in John A. Hobson’s Imperialism, A Study, 19th-century Britons fervidly deluded themselves into believing that the purpose of British imperialism was to teach foreign territories the “truth” of free, representative self-government. This sort of republican government, as Britain’s status quo, was comforting for those European citizens raised with its limits and freedoms. As far as these citizens knew, this form of government was simply the best and most just of its sort. So, these Britons felt no concern for their own empires colonies, knowing that those faraway subjects were being ruled by a sound and representative system. However, while some British colonies such as Australia and Canada did self-govern (to an extent), less than
