Comparing the Impact of Colonization in A Small Place, A Passage to India, and Robinson Crusoe

Impact of British Colonization Exposed in A Small Place, A Passage to India, and Robinson Crusoe

British colonialism began in the early fifteen hundreds and even continues today with the British rule of the British Virgin Islands. For centuries, literature has served as a type of historical documentation of colonization as many authors wrote about colonization from both a colonized and a colonizer's point of view. During colonization, and post-colonization, the physical environment of each colony was changed. Using references to A Small Place, A Passage to India, and Robinson Crusoe, I will provide examples of the physical changes to the colonized societies made by England and discuss the reactions of the colonized people.

Jamaica Kincade is quoted as saying "The English loved England so much they built it everywhere they went." Kincaid writes about the feelings of the colonized society in A Small Place. While she expresses the feeling of the colonized, contrarily, she explains the ideas of the English colonizer. In this excerpt, she is describing Antigua, the place she grew up, and how the British changed it. She begins by explaining the English love England so much, whenever they went they turned it into England. She supports this idea in several ways. First, she gives examples of the street names in Antigua. On a tropical island in the Caribbean Sea, the streets have names such as Rodney, Hood, Hawkins and Drake Street all names of "English maritime criminals". Secondly, Kincaid continues with her description of High Street. This was the street where all of the colonial government buildings were located. The English had built an entire portion of the city that did not exist before their arrival. High Street consiste...

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...his journey. For as long as he has ink he will write and after that, he will be forced to leave off (Defoe 72). Defoe did not give Friday much of a voice. However, I can draw an inference that Friday must have liked Crusoe's "English" house or he would not have stayed. We can make comparisons to Crusoe being the Colonizer and Friday was the colonized. Therefore, we can conclude, that the colonized people did like some aspects of the British colonization.

In conclusion, "The English loved England so much they built it everywhere." As shown in A Small Place, A Passage to India, and Robinson Crusoe, the effects that the British had on each of their colonies will certainly last a long time. Colonies will embrace schools, libraries, Governmental buildings, banks, airports and even churches that will remain there for generations after the expiration of British rule.