Which books? I've read through a fair number of history books published in the US, and they have tended to have a strong focus on the problems caused by colonization while criticizing the idea of 'saving' the locals.

> History books in US and UK still teach that the colonizers saved the savages and brought them to the modern age.

My history books (1980s public school, New York, US) most definitely taught nothing of the sort.

I don't think that's true. I went to school in the UK in the 80's and my kids are going to school in the US now, and this is far from what I remember then and not what I see now. "Colonial guilt" is how I would sum it up. Not to say there's not a lot of whitewashing and selective reporting, far from it. But it's probably been 50 years since "teach that the colonizers saved the savages"..

You have a point about the economic impact of the colonialism, and the economic value that was extracted. At least in the case of the UK, that was made it a global power. That is usually not discussed much, because it's history, not economics...

No they don't in the UK.