Even if the educated and ‘enlightened’ Asian was not a compradore or a lesser official of some foreign ruler or firm (a situation not dissimilar to that of the Greek diaspora in Turkey), his first political task was to Westernize-i,e. to introduce the ideas of the French Revolution and of scientific and technical modernization among his people against the united resistance of traditional rulers and traditional ruled (a situation not dissimilar to that of the gentlemen-Jacobin of Southern Italy).