Cacs being into bathing and super hygienic is a product of societal conditioning through Hollywood movies/Tv shows. Ironically, most celebrities who come out stating that they don't bath are Cac celebrities.
Another funny thing is that they believe bathing only happens if you have a bathroom
. I saw a Cac one day saying that people in poor countries don't bath, because they don't have a bathroom, thus don't have a place to shower...Later found out that many Cacs really believe in this nonsense.
Which means, that if this Cac mother doesn't bath her kid regularly now(even though she has a modern bathroom at home), then her kid wouldn't bath at all if they were poor without access to it
From my experience, most don't scrub themselves. Don't use washcloths or anything like that. Just pass some water, some superficial shower gel use, then put some lotion, perfume and that's it "Ready to go".
PS: Also, OP, you need to stop viewing colonization through romantic lenses and learn history. It happened because of 2 main factors...Europeans having a lot of money, due to them plundering the Americas and Southeast Asia, for centuries and before Africa, and also because of maxim guns, that could 600 rounds PER MINUTE, with a reach of 2,400 meters/2,4 kilometers. Being the most important invention of the late 19th century. Due to having a lot of money, they could recruit a lot of African mercenaries, who knew the landscapes of the places they were trying to invade.
An example here, the 1903 battle of Kano, between Sokoto Caliphate and United Kingdom:
Mercenaries:
A depiction of the invasion of Kano:
If you want to know how it worked, here is a good video...
Maxim guns were the main factor...Not them being super stinky...