The book Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe, originally called The Life and Strange Surprising Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, is a fiction novel published in 1719. The work was thought to be non-fiction for many years; it was later found that it was only inspired by the true story of a Scottish castaway named Alexander Selkirk. Robinson Crusoe is the main fictional character who leaves the safety of his home in England in 1651, the primetime for exploration, and goes out to adventure on the sea. Soon after leaving he is left shipwrecked and alone on an island, where he lives for the next 28 years. During his time on the island, he writes down his thoughts and records altercations with cannibals, white men, and even wild goats. One of the most stressed conflicts that Crusoe experiences are the cannibals that he finds a threat to his well-being. Crusoe’s interactions with the cannibals on the island reflect the religious reasoning of colonists during the Age of Discovery.
The time period that Robinson Crusoe set out on his voyage for adventure was one of the most dangerous. Columbus’ voyage was one of the first voyages and it marks the start of the Age of Discovery, also referred to as the period of European Expansion, this was followed quickly by other European countries Portugal and England. The Age of Discovery is the general time period when colonization was happening and is thought to last until the 19th century (“The Portugese Role in Exploring and Mapping the New World”). Crusoe goes on many voyages throughout the novel; most of these voyages are trade routes to pick up slaves to be used in different plantations around the world. It is important to show the risk of these voyages, according to William McCarthy, “The odds of being involved in a shipwreck, either personally or through loss of cargo, investment or family, were high during the period of European expansion” (69). It is vital to have context on exploration and trade during this time period; the risk was high, but the rewards were plentiful. With this information, Crusoe can be compared to the explorers of the Age of Discovery because of his familiar background and adventurous spirit.
Cannibals are not mentioned often in the novel, but the fear of them is constant. The first mention of them in the book is out of fear by Crusoe, “Besides, after some thought upon this affair, I considered that if this land was the Spanish coast, I should certainly, one time or other, see some vessel pass or repass one way or other; but if not, then it was the savage coast between the Spanish country and Brazils, where are found the worst of savages; for they are cannibals or men-eaters, and fail not to murder and devour all the human bodies that fall into their hands” (Defoe 110). Crusoe is assuming that anyone he finds in this area of the world is a man-eating savage which entirely fits the mood of colonization and slave trade during the time period. This links back to the struggle of morality in the conquest of lands habited by natives. In Bernal Diaz’s book on the conquest of Mexico, he describes the natives, “They made human sacrifices, and were cruel to an excess, drunkards, filthy, and wicked, with thirty other turpitudes. They were punished with fire and sword two or three times (329). This shows the obvious taboo practices of natives that the Europeans did not agree with, the cannibals in Robinson Crusoe symbolize these actions of human sacrifice and filth. It links back to the idea that explorers did not agree with natives due to their religious bias, therefore they reasoned differently.
It is important to realize the role of religion during this time period before getting into how it affected the reasoning of colonists. Looking at just the numbers, more people during the Age of Discovery were churchgoers and, especially in England with the Anglican Church (“Religion and the Founding of the American Republic”). Contradictory to the modern day, “[between] 1700 and 1740, an estimated 75 to 80 percent of the population attended churches, which were being built at a headlong pace” (“Religion and the Founding of the American Republic”). Crusoe grew up in England in a middle-class family, before leaving the island he wasn’t on good terms with his religious beliefs, but he grows during his time on the island. The turning point in the novel when he begins to think in a pious way is after the barley he dumps onto the ground begins to grow, “It is impossible to express the astonishment and confusion of my thoughts on this occasion. I had hitherto acted upon no religious foundation at all; indeed, I had very few notions of religion in my head, nor had entertained any sense of anything that had befallen me otherwise than as chance, or, as we lightly say, what pleases God, without so much as inquiring into the end of Providence in these things, or His order in governing events for the world” (Defoe 78). This point in the story is where the religious reasonings of past explorers emerge, from this point on, Crusoe’s actions directly reflect the reasoning of colonists and his religious affirmations confirm this.
One of the most mentioned characteristics that Crusoe describes the cannibals with is how primal and inferior they are. When talking about his new friend Friday, Crusoe states, “I caused Friday to gather all the skulls, bones, flesh, and whatever remained, and lay them together in a heap, and make a great fire upon it, and burn them all to ashes. I found Friday had still a hankering stomach after some of the flesh, and was still a cannibal in his nature; but I showed so much abhorrence at the very thoughts of it, and at the least appearance of it, that he durst not discover it: for I had, by some means, let him know that I would kill him if he offered it (Defoe 211). Crusoe states that if Friday offered him any, he would kill him; he puts no effort into being open to other moral thoughts. This idea of superiority was one of the most prevalent in the way that natives were treated, colonists came to the Americas with the idea that if you were not Christian, you were not right (“Religion and the Founding of the American Republic”).
The religious ideology of the time was developed in a way that gave the idea of evangelism its roots. Explorers, for the most part, were going to these new areas for the money, which often came in the form of gold, but another motive was the evangelic spread of the gospel. These colonizers would refer to the natives as “conquered” as if they were now in the nothing in comparison to Europeans and the power of the white man (Mitchell and Hearn 103). Before finding his religious roots on the island, Crusoe sees a foot and instantly runs in fear and hides in his house for days (Defoe 156). After finding his roots, Crusoe longs to spread his beliefs to others, which he eventually does with Friday, converting him a Christian. This evangelism does not last long, and eventually, greed and hatred fill his heart. Relationships between colonists and Native Americans are sometimes thought of as positive, but the truth is the relationships were far more confusing and multifaceted (Tetek 5). While Crusoe never acted in a friendly way to the cannibals, he had thoughts of sharing his religion with them that he never acted upon.
The ideas of prosperous and positive relationships between Native Americans and colonists were short lasting, according to Richard Tetek, “The English considered their culture superior and their attitudes were often aggressive and intolerant” (6). Crusoe actively reflects this when he refers to the cannibals later in the book. While thinking about killing the tribes of cannibals, he even has dreams about them stating, “This fancy pleased my thoughts for some weeks” (Defoe 171). Crusoe changes his thoughts as did explorers to feelings of hate and aggression. Seeing himself as the king of the island, he turned himself into a God and therefore felt superior to the Natives. This reflects the idea of the growing number of English Colonists, they started to inhabit the land formerly inhabited by the natives and they began thinking it was theirs for the taking (Tetek 6). This action is mirrored by Crusoe, he comes to an island that is not thought to be inhabited, but he cannot be sure of it.
The final way that Crusoe reflects the reasonings are through his actions against the cannibals. While thinking about what to do with the cannibals and what his role is, he ponders, “Religion joined in with this prudential resolution; and I was convinced now, many ways, that I was perfectly out of my duty when I was laying all my bloody schemes for the destruction of innocent creatures—I mean innocent as to me. As to the crimes they were guilty of towards one another, I had nothing to do with them; they were national, and I ought to leave them to the justice of God” (Defoe 175). This idea of wrong from right is highly reflective of reasoning of the colonists when they first arrived. Time went by and the colonists realized that their religious beliefs clashed with those of the natives. They began to disagree, and it made it hard for them to get along which eventually led to conflicts between the groups (Tetek 6). Crusoe eventually makes a step in a different direction and kills many of the cannibals as soon as he sees them with a European (Defoe 238). This is a reflection of the attitude shown of the explorers, specifically Bernal Diaz, who was given the orders by his leader and Indian allies to kill all of the natives, including the young children (116). Crusoe’s actions towards the cannibals are few, but they are meant to show the violent acts that colonists took against natives due simply due to their moral differences.
Crusoe has a select amount of interactions with cannibals throughout the novel, but they show an obvious reflection of religious reasoning of colonists. He is shaped throughout the novel from being clueless as far as religion is concerned, to being pious, and ends up having loose morals and scarce reasoning. Crusoe is a perfect symbol of a colonist because he comes from a middle-class family and seeks adventure. The idea of evangelism is shown through his friend Friday but is eventually lost when he turns against the cannibals in violent warfare. This reflects the cultural significance of religion and shows that although the reasoning of colonists started out with good intentions, it quickly changed to a bloodthirsty, vicious affair. Robinson Crusoe’s detailed conflicts with the cannibals located on his island reflect the religious rationality of colonists during the Age of Discovery.