... intellectualism. Often in 18th Century Europe the Orientalist would study and judge the Orient based on second hand knowledge and conjecture. This view of understanding the Orient better than the Oriental without living it leads into the second part of Orientalism2. The second part of Orientalism as defined by Said is the justification of subjugation. Europeans believed that due to their better understanding of the history of a culture, and their superior culture they needed to dominate other cultures in order to improve them. Arthur James Balfour, a member of the British parliament once said in reference to Egypt; "We are in Egypt not merely for the sake of the Egyptians, though we are there for their sake; we are there also for the sake of Europe at large3." Balfour meant by this that British occupation of Egypt was necessary for the protection of the Egyptians and for the benefit of ...

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