Final answer:
The "civilizing missions" were founded on the belief in Western superiority and the right to bring Western values and institutions to conquered territories. These missions, often executed by missionaries and colonial administrators, sought to impose Christianity, education, and Western culture on indigenous populations, with underlying economic and strategic interests.
Step-by-step explanation:
The underlying assumptions behind "civilizing missions" were based on a belief that industrialized Western nations were culturally and biologically superior, and therefore had the right and the duty to bring the benefits of their civilization to the conquered or less developed societies. This concept was heavily influenced by the now-discredited theory of social Darwinism, which held that the dominance of certain groups was due to natural superiority. The so-called benefits brought by these missions included religion, education, western clothing, and sports like soccer, cricket, and baseball which were thought to instil values such as fair play and teamwork.
Protestant missionaries played a significant role in this process, with the efforts to convert people in colonies to Christianity and to assimilate them to Western cultures. While the intention was to help elevate the standards of living and introduce democratic principles, there was often a heavy paternalistic approach that ignored the complexities and value of indigenous cultures. Much of this policy was enacted under the guise of philanthropy, but it frequently served the economic and strategic interests of the colonizing powers.
Manifest Destiny in the United States was another example of the civilizing mission, where the policy aimed to educate native peoples in Euro-American farming methods and assimilate them into the American culture. These efforts were seen as both beneficial for the settlers in terms of acquiring land and resources, and as a way to uplift the indigenous populations, though they often resulted in damaging the native societies.