What did the europeans bring, really?

Whenever people make excuses about colonization they bring up how European settlers brought civilization to the "barbarians", but what did they bring, really?
For the most part they usually bring up modern things like penicillin which are modern inventions which the europe and at the time wouldent even have access to, or things like democracy which some old tribes already had.
So what DID they bring that could be considered "civilizing"?
From the top of my head:
>Roads and rideable animals (in the new world)
>Literacy (in illiterate places)
>connections to other places

What did the Romans ever do for us?

A lot of things which we mostly forgot about or just ditched during the medieval era

>Christian dark ages meme
But seriously, the west dragged their colonies kicking and screaming into something resembling modernity. While colonialism is bad it also had some benefits.

Roads were known in Mesoamerica the Maya even had a specific name for it. Sacbe I think it was. In the Andes they had roads of their own and the Amazon around the Xingu area also had long wide roads between their clusters of villages and cities.

Like what exactly, genuinely curious

Well if we go old school many groups didn't even have iron. Newer things include curing polio and smallpox.

>European settlers brought civilization to the "barbarians"
Even thought I'm a massive /pol/fag most of the time, this argument always seemed fishy.
The European setters didn't bring all the goodies to the natives out of generosity. They brought them because they themselves needed them.
The never thought that someday the colonies would become independent and the natives would forever be grateful for all these things.

There was a scene in March or Die were a French Foreign commander was speaking with a Berber leader. The commander was saying the Berbers should give up and accept French rule because they will build schools, railroads....but the Berber replied that, yes, the French will do this, but the teachers will only teach French, the railroads will transport French good....and generally all these will benefit the French first.

I recommend watching The Mission - aside from beeing from a pretty religious perspective, it's a pretty non clichey look at South American colonization with its (mostly) cons and (also historical) pros. F.e. many Indios loved music and Europe gave them a whole new perspective

Iron is a good point but colonialism didnt help find the cure for small pox as the native americans are glad to tell you

They had roads, but what's the point when they're too retarded to 'invent' a wheel to make a wagon?

>what's the point of shoes if your feet will just get used to it walking all day?

go read a book. and specify exactly which civilization you're talking about.

by that description we could be talking about the romans, the macedonians, the british, etc...

What's the point of wheels for a wagon when canoes are a much faster way of transporting goods? Also no animals for wagons, they had to rely on humans to power their own tools.

Shoes are made to keep the feet warm not for comfort

Then why did they build roads?

ok then, sandals
Footwear in general

Because walking on a clear paved road is easier and safer than shitty dirt roads that could overgrow fast and be covered with animals or bandits

the aquaduct

Oh...
Yeah, yeah they did give us that, ah thats true.

I never implied that all people experienced colonialism the same way.
Don't forget the wine

Peace?

>implying they didn't know about the wheel
>implying wagons are at all practical without beasts of burden

>literal anime villain logic

Well they didn't settle in other lands to bring peace and love and knowledge. They settled to escape poverty, famine, wars, persecution, to build a new life, maybe try out their luck. They brought death and destruction on a new scale, but also new concepts of thinking, being and living, heaviliy shaping the course of the world to what it is now, for better of for worse.

I think there's not much to excuse.