Standard of civilisation

The standard of civilisation was a principle of international law during the European colonial period that set the criterion for a region to be fully recognised and respected as sovereign. The standard of civilisation was used by European powers following the Age of Discovery when they traded with, exploited and colonised the lands outside Europe. Countries which had non-European civilisations would be considered semi-civilised while primitive areas would be considered uncivilised. The laws of such areas would not be respected and their people, property and territory might be seized, conquered or colonised. International lawyers often used the principle to justify the rights of European colonial empires to colonise and control non-European societies.

History

European colonial thought

Although the concept of civilisation historically lacked a precise, singular definition, Lucien Febvre noted that during the eighteenth century, it had a meaning of "rather at sea between politesse, police, and civilité." Following the French Revolution, the idea of civilisation gained prominence in France and subsequently in Britain. It encompassed both a continuous process and an attained condition. The latter was considered a source of considerable national pride, emphasising superiority in economic, technological, and sociopolitical domains, as well as intellectual, spiritual, and artistic accomplishments, functioning as "a general counter-concept to another stage of society, barbarism".

During the European colonial period, a widespread division of the world into savage, barbarian and civilised peoples prevailed. According to Montesquieu, savage peoples "are small scattered nations that, for certain, particular reason, cannot unite" and were usually hunting peoples whereas barbarians "are ordinarily small nations that can unite" and were typically pastoral peoples.