It is no secret that imperialistic ideas swept through the United Kingdom. Soon, these ideas were spread throughout the world as the U.K. expanded towards what is now the U.S., Canada, the eastern coast of Africa, Australia, and more (see map). When thinking of this time period, it is easy to get lost in the politics of it all but Said points out just how much support these Western beliefs had. Said states “We can sense how ideas about dependent races and territories were held both by foreign-office executives, colonial bureaucrats, and military strategists and by intelligent novel-readers by educating themselves in the fine points of moral evaluation, literary balance, and stylistic finish” (Said 95). It is important to note that while the political/expansion decisions were made by higher-ups in society, there was widespread support from across the country.
Within The Woman of Colour, we can see Augustus commenting on these prejudices and imperialist beliefs. Augustus writes “Prejudices imbibed in the nursery are frequently attached to the being of ripened years” (80). Augustus points out that from birth, children are exposed to their parents' beliefs and if their parents strongly support an idea, they will too.