Troubles Of An Expanding Society Slavery, Language, And...

Troubles of an Expanding Society: Slavery, Language, and Imperialism In England, 1611, William Shakespeare’s romance The Tempest debuted in the city of London. England, at this time, was experiencing exploration with the founding of the New World and the strange inhabitants it provided. The timing of this play is crucial to understanding the motifs and themes presented. The English had just invaded Ireland, had not yet colonized New England, had made contact with the Indians, but had not yet experienced war with them. In this particular moment in history, England was encountering the unknown and differentiating the aspects of civilization from savagery (Takaki 1). Also, in 1609 there was a maiden voyage of roughly five hundred colonists†¦show more content†¦Slavery is one of the main themes repeated throughout the play and Shakespeare uses Caliban and Ariel to portray this. Caliban can be seen as a representation of two civilizations conquered and integrated into English society: Ireland and America. Ireland was claimed by England in 1 494 and Ireland’s population was originally viewed as savages living outside the realm of civilization. Their style of herding was almost nomadic and relied upon established tribal organizations. The English described the Irish as dominated by sloth, being barbarous in nature, and living as animals, but despite all of these discrepancies and slight resistance from the Irish, the English believed that they could civilize the unknown. English society expressed the same ideology when the frontier advanced from Ireland to the New World. The Indians seemed to lack what the English thought established civilization: cities, Christianity, clothing, letters, and swords. Colonialists also captured many Indians from America and brought them to the streets of London to parade them around for the populous to marvel at for a small fee. This is seen in The Tempest when Stephano considers, in his drunken state, to capture Caliban and bring him back to Naples saying â€Å"If I can recover hi m and keep him tame and get to Naples with him, he’s a present for any emperor that