Introduction
The British imperialism meant a lot to different people, especially for literary writers. Daniel Defoe presents Robinson Crusoe as a man who proclaims his Christian morals and British superiority to consider his sense of identity. In the novel, the colonizer and the colonized is evident when Robinson saves Friday's life. Robinson is used in the novel to display religion, culture, and ideology (Yumpu.com 5). He is the ideal Englishman who loves to enlarge the English terrain and self-government, presenting English imperialism, capitalism, and colonialism. Therefore, this discussion provides a critical examination of how various extracts in the novel thematically and formally display colonialism through close reading and placement of the text in its social-political context.
In chapter one, we are introduced to Robinson's unprecedented adventure. He narrates, "I went on board a ship bound for London….,. The ship was no sooner out of the Humber than the wind began to blow and the sea to rise most exceedingly; and, as I had never been at sea before…, I was most inexpressibly sick in body and terrified in mind…"(Defoe 7)This excerpt is an introduction to the life of Robinson as a seafarer and the future that awaits him. He is involved in a series of violent storms. Instead of going home, he boards another ship and returns from a fruitful tour to Africa. His trip to Africa is symbolic of how British imperialism encroached and established a colonial empire in most African countries. Circumstances lead him to Brazil, where he stayed and owned a sugar plantation where he sought to increase production by increasing the number of slaves. He embarks on a journey to Africa to fetch more slaves who would work on his plantations. He says, "I mean in the advancement of my plantation; for the first thing I did, I bought me a Negro slave, and a European servant also – I mean an-other besides that which the captain brought me from Lisbon…"(Defoe 37). Here he is talking about the slave trade and his plans for establishing his empire in Brazil. This excerpt is an exact representation of how British imperialism worked. It sought to conquer the world economically, religiously, and politically.
When Robinson meets Friday in his destitute exile after the shipwreck, the first thing he does is give him an English name- Friday, then teach him English, convert him to a protestant, and then make him his minion (McInelly 11). Robinson's relationship with his servant Friday is an allegory of how British imperialism disrupted other cultures while also civilizing others. British imperialism took the same route since the colonizers first came in as missionaries. The colonies are Anglophone, they have English names, and most of the slaves were either shipped to Britain to work in their lands or remain in their countries and work in local lands grabbed by the colonizers in their home countries, especially in Africa. After a dramatic turn of events, Robinson and Friday return to England, and Robinson sells his plantation in Brazil and settles with his new family in England. After creating a successful business empire around their colonies, English colonizers would return to England to retire and lease their properties to the locals.
Conclusion
To sum up, we have seen various ways in which Robinson Crusoe revealed British imperialism's nature. He is a seafarer who has traveled to many countries in Africa, encountered exile, and survived harsh conditions. He acquired a property in Brazil and sourced slaves in Africa. Robinson settles back in London after leading a dangerous life, and we can conclude that Daniel Defoe has successfully presented British imperialism in the novel Robinson Crusoe.
