Colonialism is used today almost exclusively as a term of opprobrium. It is used to demonize the west and especially western Europeans. If one reads only the side of the history of colonialism that portrays all of colonialists as horrible and even genocidal they would only be viewing one side of the historical ledger.  

This rather myopic view is favored by those who wish to contort history to support their narrative and further their aims. These aims almost always involve money and power.

It is difficult to find quality intellectual works which paint a more accurate picture of colonialism. One such work is 'Empire: How Britain Made the Modern World' by historian Niall Ferguson. Two others are, 'Not Stolen' by Jeff Fynn-Paul and 'The Case for Colonialism' by Bruce Gilley.

I will close this piece by pointing out something almost never understood or appreciated when discussing the history of colonialism. If India had been colonized by Russia, China or the Ottoman Empire, Gandhi would never have succeeded in vanquishing the colonizers. Instead he would have either been executed or marched off to some type of Gulag.

He was only successful because the British, while certainly brutal at times, had a conscience and it was to their conscience that Gandhi appealed.