At the beginning of the nineteenth century, eighteenth-century criticism of imperialism still lived on, and for many it was self-evident to take a stand against genocide. [ ] But during nineteenth-century European expansion, another attitude appeared. Genocide began to be regarded as the inevitable by-product of progress.

The threat of extermination provided motivation for anthropological research, which in exchange gave the exterminators an alibi by declaring extermination inevitable.

Sven Lindqvist, 

Exterminate All The Brutes