Lecture 14: Exploring the Other, Cont'd.
I. Introductory stuff—tests back on Thursday. Look quite solid so far, some forgetting
of significance of material. Still working on long answer.
Thursday—discussion of Tempest. Be sure to bring the book and talk not only about the
play, which will be a major part of understanding it, but also about the meanings /
significance of the play as a primary document.
Last time, I provided a theoretical overview for understanding the ideology of the other in
Early Modern England. We examined the theory of Subaltern Studies and Posctolonial
theory and I mentioned that it is a way not only of recovering the voice of the colonized,
but also for problematizing the structure of the narrative of colonialism and cultural
contact.
Today, we're going to continue in that same vein, first with a brief examination of the
emergence of the British Empire and then in a discussion of English relations with
others, finally to a discussion of the black presence at home and abroad.
First, a definition—even in its early modern formation, English ideas of "blackness"
transcended a simple category African / English. English notions of blackness focus on
all other races, including the Irish.
II. Emergence of 1st British Empire
A. Most scholars date the English / British Empire to the middle of Elizabeth's
reign, especially after the English obtained naval control over the Atlantic after
the defeat of the Armada. I will move from that assumption since previous
interaction on a large scale was essentially contained to Ireland. However, it is
also important to reiterate that the defeat of the Armada did not signal the
decimation of Spanish forces or their destruction as an imperial power. It also
wasn't the English navy's first excursion. It had been abroad throughout the
Tudor Period.
B. Exploration—main names in British Exploration:
1. John and Sebastian Cabot—the founding of the NW Corridor, a
northern passage to India that English believed existed. I talked about
Cabot last time.
2. Sir Francis Drake—the circumnavigation of the globe. Drake also
engaged in some healthy plunder of the Spanish fleet, and established
some of the slavers of the middle of the century. In the 1550s, the
Sayegh lecture
The "Other" cont'd., page 2
English worked by any means possible to break the Spanish trade
monopoly by selling slaves to Spanish landowners in the Caribbean
among other things. It is important that the English entrance into the
slave trade (based on records we have available) was contemporaneous
with trade conflicts with the Dutch and especially the Spanish. Drake's
"piracy" in Panama, in Spain, on the Atlantic, brought wealth to the
Kingdom—but while getting England rich, the situation also emphasized
certain cultures over others.
By 1585, the Barbary Company, a very early joint-stock Company
emerged to obtain a monopoly of trade along the Barbary Coast (a major
place for Slaving for Europeans other than Portuguese).
3. Sir Walter Raleigh and the "discovery" of Virginia. Chosen for its
geographic amenability, this area of North America was thought to be
able to provide all kinds of resources for extraction. Some of the images
from the time suggest that it was a great land of plenty.
4. In the 17th century, the Pilgrims / Puritans wanted to establish colonies
separate from the "Crown Colonies" of Jamestown in VA, so established
the Plymouth Colony with the Massachusetts Bay Company. Leader was
William Bradford, c. 1621. Previous to this was the disastrous attempt to
establish a colony at Roanoke in Virginia (1585-1589).
III. Relations with the Colonies—the Irish
A. From Roman times there was interaction. St. Patrick in the early centuries of
the common era was a Briton who was taken captive to Ireland. So Ireland was
known and it was culturally different. Long line of historic cultural contact.
B. Henry II, Plantagenet obtained authorization from Pope Adrian to "conquer
and remedy" the wayward Irish who corrupted Christianity. While he "conquered"
them, they retained really only a nominal allegiance to Henry. Led to up-anddown problems.
C. From early on, the Irish nobles, their proximity to England, their corruption of
the Church led to categories of distinction from the English
D. By the time of Elizabeth, the already poor relationship grew increasingly sour
in the new age of international relations.
IV. The Black Presence at Home and abroad
Sayegh lecture
The "Other" cont'd., page 3
A. Argued that there was not much presence at home. There is archaeological
evidence that blacks were on the island as Niebrzydowski asserts—bones dating
from the 12th century found in Norfolk, but no idea why! But I can note that
Norfolk, in East Anglia, is very much part of the eastern shipping / trading routes,
therefore there was plenty of opportunity for cultural contact.
B. For Early Modern England, cultural contact was very much focused on the
rightness of Englishness, and hence its whiteness. This whiteness was
displayed in the various genres:
1. paintings—especially paintings of the Stuarts—black footmen,
horsemen, etc.
2. literature—crucial place for navigating ethnic identity of the English in
relationship to blacks.
In both places, it's important to note that it's not so much that blacks permeated
English society, they didn't. But there was enough contact to construct identities
and the fixing of oppositions. Even into the late 20th century, black population
only about 10% of the population.
C. In these instances, we can see how the British developed a new idea of Race.
There is, in North America, cultural contact with groups heretofore unknown.
Different ideas among travelers and colonizers emerged as well. Were the
Indians good? Bad? Were they "irredeemably savage"? No matter the response,
the premise behind the individual conclusions was that they were inherently
inferior. Men like John Smith, despite the Disney flick, did not trust the Native
Americans. While the Native Americans provided support like food and shelter
the English, which the English (notably Bradford of the Plymouth Colony) readily
recognized, the English nevertheless worked to take their land and exploit them.
D. The Black Legend—certainly prompted the English belief / propaganda fueled
by the commentary of Bartolomé de las Casas that the Spanish were too brutal
to the natives. Therefore, the English increasingly saw themselves as the savior
to the other. How much different here, are the English from the 11th century idea
of "conquering and remedying" the other?
V. Conclusion: My lecture today sought to trace the definitive emergence of the British
Empire. While the English were engaged in overseas encounters, it's not until the reign
of Elizabeth that specific instances of interaction, claiming and exploitation emerged.
Sayegh lecture
The "Other" cont'd., page 4
But within that larger context is the ideological position behind conquest and
colonization. Certainly, much can be attributed to economic issues, as some of your
books for your project will argue. But the cultural significance is important as well.
Economic superiority was gained in part by enforcing a cultural superiority to others:
firstly the sacking of Ireland, secondly, the exploitation of the Mediterranean and the
Barbaries, thirdly, the colonization of North America.
Cultural superiority rested in part on religious rightness as well as ethnic difference. And
even as they fought against the Black legend of the Spanish, they bought into racial
stereotypes that found their way into the "curiosities" and "oddities" of the fairs and
popular culture. The other was now a central category of asserting Englishness and
Protestantism. And it would guide future contact.