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Although Columbus treated the Native American's very harshly, acting in ways which a majority of Christians would describe as sinful, he was able to completely justify all of his actions because he deemed them necessary in order to help save the eternal souls of the Godless savages which he encounters. Even though Columbus' control of territory in America had nothing to do with Britain, his methods and justifications for this colonization provided an insight about how the British Empire dealt with these same situations.
Along with colonization being the religious duty of Christians, many British believed that it was the moral duty of a civilized society. The uncivilized lifestyles lived by many of the people in areas colonized by the British were thought to limit the amount of progress that they could achieve as a society. "They have got as far as they can go, because they own their land in common.there is not enterprise to make you home any better than that of your neighbors. There is no selfishness, which is at the bottom of civilization" (Zinn, p. 11). The British believed that only with their help could savage societies eventually become civilized. This way of thinking helped many British justify the mistreatment of these savage societies because they believed that the end of helping them become more modernized is enough to offset any horrific actions performed in this modernization. .
Along with colonization, free labor was another essential element witch contributed to the success of the British Empire. Whether it was the indentured labor of those British subjects, who first settled in America or the enslavement of Africans, who were taken from their homeland and forced to work on southern plantations much of the legwork of actually building and maintaining the empire fell upon their shoulders. Both these indentured servants and slaves were treated very harshly and forced to live joy free lives devoted completely to work.