>I think that an argument can be made that colonization in general helped colonized countries to advance.
I had this exact same exchange with my student in college:
“Well, Britain brutally colonized the Indians and blah blah blah.”
“So did the Muslims, but unlike the British, the did it by killing half the populace.”
“Yeah, but you can’t COMPARE those two things!”
“Certainly I can. Certain cultures have noble and less than noble motives. The British wanted resources and exploration, and they really weren’t intent on killing anyone. In fact, in the 1790’s they had already banned slavery.”
“Yeah, but you have to admit that what the British did was wrong.”
“Certainly, by today’s standards.”
At this time her face had turned completely red and she didn’t say anything else.
The British also outlawed widow burning (suttee) in India, and it would be amusing to hear your student justify India’s caste system.
Never mind all the messy details, all anybody needs to know is: Whitey is bad and evil, everybody else is good, noble and sinless.