During the mid-19th century, the Europeans had certain goals which they regarded as important in the humanitarian sense. One of these goals was expressed in the slogan, ‘The White Man's Burden’ (taken from a line in a poem by Rudyard Kipling), which was the mission to ‘civilise’ (uplift, advance) the ‘less fortunate’ and ‘less gifted’ people of Southeast Asia. Towards this end, they implemented policies providing educational and healthcare services.Kenton J. Clymer, "Humanitarian imperialism: David Prescott Barrows and the white man's burden in the Philippines." Pacific Historical Review 45.4 (1976): 495-517. Christian missionaries often took leadership roles in education and medical care, and in opposing the slave trade.Bronwen Everill, "Bridgeheads of Empire? Liberated African Missionaries in West Africa." Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History 40.5 (2012): 789-805.E. A. Ayandele, "The coming of Western education to Africa." West African Journal of Education 15.1 (1971): 21-33.
