Book review The civilizing mission was predicated on the idea that "Africa has no history." This view became predominant during the Enlightenment and culminated in the nineteenth century with Victor Hugo's memorable address "Discours sur l'Afrique," delivered in Paris on May 18, 1879. In the flamboyant tone typical of the author of La légende des siècles, Hugo articulated to an audience consisting of members of "La Société des Amis des Noirs" the prevailing belief that European countries were morally obligated to colonize Africa. Hugo's discourse, like Rudyard Kipling's poem "The White Man's Burden" two decades later, captured the essence of European assumption that superior races had the duty to contribute scientific, technical, and moral progress to inferior races steeped in ignorance, superstition, and barbarity.