ENGL 350: Colonial

From Keywords

Contents 1 Succinct Definition/Connotation List 2 Classical Definitions 3 Technical Uses 4 Related Words and Connotations 5 Race, Sentiment, and Colonialism

Succinct Definition/Connotation List

• 1. Being or belonging to a colony
• 2. Living together in an area, animals
• 3. Defining borders between colonized land and non-colonized land
• 4. Relative to the Colonial time period (architecture, clothing, etc.)

Classical Definitions

• According the Oxford English Dictionary, the term "Colonial" refers to "being of or belonging to a colony". We generally think of British colonization or the original 13 American colonies that preceded the United States when we hear this term, although it can also be applied to animals. The word "Colonial" can also mean "belonging to or characteristic of the time period of the colonies". This term is seen often in regards to architecture or furniture and can be used to describe products of Colonial origin. "Colonial" can also be used as a noun in reference someone who lives in a colony.
  • These days colonial is associated with a style of dressing as well as a way of interior design. The interior design aspect was found on HGTV's show Divine Design. It was used in the revamp-ment of a home and was interesting because it used lots of drapery and classic New England architecture. (see definition #4)
    • In an episode of The Office called "Benjamin Franklin," a historical speaker comes into the office dressed as Benjamin Franklin and is determined to actually be him. At one point, Pam asks him if he is in the present day with them or whether he actually is living in Colonial times. Dwight also quizzes this Benjamin Franklin about various leaders of the time, football, and chocolate. Also, Dwight is 99% sure that it is not the real Ben Franklin. 98.
    • Another random example comes from the TV Scrubs in which the character Dr. Turk compliments a co-worker by saying, "You went colonial on his ass!" This is interesting because the word colonial is used in a positive way, when the most common connotation we have come across is either very negative and demeaning or relatively neutral (see definition #3).

• According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, the colony, from which we get the adjectival form colonial, was used c. 1384 in reference to an “ancient Roman settlement outside Italy”. Also according to this site, the term colony wasn’t used in the modern sense of the word until 1548. The term colonial was first recorded in 1776 and is credited to the British statesman Edmund Burke.
  • In ancient times, "Colonial" referred to the Roman Empire. Roman citizens would settle on the land that they had taken over from someone else. Land was given to former soldiers as payment for what they had done for their country (Keywords 52).

• The Online Etymology Dictionary makes reference to words used during the colonial period of the United States, referring to them as “colonial words”, and implying that they were used or created during this time in United States history. The words in this category were invented in the early American colonies.
  • For example, The Online Etymology Dictionary mentions the word cuspidor: 1779, a colonial word, from Port. cuspidor "spittoon," from cuspir "to spit," from L. conspuere "spit on," from com- intens. prefix + spuere "to spit."

• This is the link to the Wikipedia entry on Colonial.

• "Colonial" comes from the latin word colonia. Colonia comes from the Greek word apoikia meaning to get away from the domestic sphere. The term Metropolis is also Greek, a big city. Joining a colony refers to leaving a country or city behind and starting over somewhere else. The thirteen colonies were an extension of England. They fought for their independence and eventually became the United States of America (Keywords 56).

Technical Uses

Involving the Government

• In a different sense, colonial, or in this case, colony, can have a rather neutral connotation, as is made clear from the above definitions. Jefferson uses the term colony simply to refer to geographic/political areas during the Colonial time period. He uses it as an informational reference point. (see Jefferson, page 89).
  • Thomas Jefferson was the governor of Virginia. Virginia was also one of the original thirteen colonies. Although it wasn't a state yet, it still showed similarities to one.

• A colony is also referred to as "A government in which the governor is elected by the inhabitants under a charter of incorporation by the king, in contrast to one in which the governor is appointed"(Keywords 52).
  • I think it is particularly interesting, with this definition of colony, to see the way in which the British government decided what its original colonies “needed” and how they were to be constructed and run. For example, Jefferson states the title of those who were to be involved in the forming of the colony and colonial government of Virginia: “the Treasurer and Company of adventurers and planters of the City of London for the first colony of Virginia” (117). Following this, Jefferson lists those who are given the vote on “the nomination and revocation of governors, officers, and ministers, which by them should be thought needful for the colony, the power of establishing forms of government and magistracy, obligatory not only within the colony, but also on the seas in going and coming to and from it…” (117-118)

Colonialism and Imperialism

• The relationship between Colonialism and Imperialism is an interesting one. At first glance, both words seem to refer to the same notion. This may be true on some level, but each looks at it from a very different perspective: one from the view of the colonists and the other from the motherland.
• The term imperialism is often used in tandem with the term colonial. The two are connected, but not interchangeable. According to [dictionary.reference.com/ Online Dictionary], imperialism is defined as "The policy of extending the rule or authority of an empire or nation over foreign countries, or of acquiring and holding colonies and dependencies."
  • Another word relating to colonial is the term postcolonial. This term refers to the indefinite period of time after a nation has gained independence from its original colonizing country.

Relating to Animals

• We tend to view the word “colonial” in reference to a time period, nowadays not using the word “colony” in reference to groups of people (see the above comment about "Colonial architecture and language). “Colonial” or “colony” are words often used in reference to animals, for example “a colony of ants”. This implies an animalistic or less-civilized approach to community. This use of the word has an interesting, negative connotation if one uses it in the context of humans--especially those that were considered barbaric or otherwise uncivilized, such as Native Americans or Africans.
• Refuge, a memoir written by naturalist Terry Tempest Williams, centers around her work with many species of birds at the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge near Salt Lake City. In several instances during the book, she (as well as other naturalists, scientists, and ornithologists) refer to the nesting grounds of bird flocks as colonies and refers to the birds themselves as colonial. Forms of the word are used in this text in instances such as: "Scientists hypothesize coloniality increases as an individual's chance of successfully finding food...within a colony is particularly abundant" (Refuge, 106). The author also refers to the methods of the birds to perform everyday functions as "colonial economics".

Related Words and Connotations

Cluster: Colonial, Property, Border In Thomas Jefferson’s work, there are a lot of terms that work in clusters with colony or *colonial, particularly the word property. Although Jefferson is describing the attributes of the state of Virginia in the opening queries of his work, this land was once a colony and the early measurements were for colonial lands. Since the terms border and boundary can be so closely linked to the term property, we can say that border and boundary are also closely linked with colonial since the original thirteen colonies spoken of by Jefferson must have boundaries set.

• • For example: The original colony of Virginia was given the boundaries: “all of the lands in Virginia from Point Comfort along the sea coast to the northward 200 miles, and from the same point along the sea coast to the southward 200 miles, and all the space from this precinct on the sea coast up into the islands within one hundred miles of it…” (117)

Cluster: Colonial, Public

• An interesting cluster involving colonial or colony is public. The connection is clear: A colony (referring to people living in the state of Virginia, for example) often refers to the people living there--not necessarily the landmass, such as how nation refers more to the population of a country rather than the country itself. During the Colonial time period, when colony was used not only did it refer to the people, but it only referred to the white population in the area. On page 93 of Jefferson's book, he lists the population of Virginia--but he does it in such a way that women are separated from men and "slaves" from "free males." When he adds all the numbers together, he doesn't refer to them collectively as a population, but as "inhabitants," as if to say that slaves aren't technically people, so the word "population" cannot be used.
  • Colony: A body of emigrants who settle in a remote region but remain under the control of a parent country (Webster's Dictionary). This definition proves that the term colony, in this case, refers to the people in the area, rather than the land itself.

Cluster: Colonial, Property

• Another interesting cluster relates property and colonial. According to Online Etymology Dictionary, a proprietor is the "owner, by royal grant, of an American colony".
• Property is related to colonial in the sense that colonists took much pride in their property. As Jefferson was discussing things he would take pride in the things that he had. Especially religion and slaves. Jefferson as well as his fellow colonists brought their religion and wanted everyone to be converted into their way of life, especially their slaves.
• In Hobomok, Mr. Conant makes reference to "all of King James' blunders with regard to his colonies". In this case, Conant is lamenting the discountenance of tobacco. Since colonies are a result of King James' British imperialism, they are his property. Hence, he controls the people who live there as royal subjects, and he controls the actions of said people. He even controls what the colonists plant in their gardens (except, of course, in case of "mere necessity"!).
  • On page 44 in Hobomok, the author refers to Naumkeak as a "young colony". It is interesting to think of a colony as being young, almost as if the ownership of such property is likened to having a child. Colonies would be hard to maintain (in this case by the king of England) from such a distance. In such cases, disease and sickness are hard to control, as can be seen in Hobomok.

• Cluster: Colonialism and Sex

Another sense of uneasiness overcomes Charlotte when they arrive in New York. When she tells Montraville that she thought La Rue and Belcour were getting married, he isn't surprised at all by the change in circumstances. "Well, but I suppose he has changed his mind, and then you know the case is altered" (61). In both Charlotte Temple, by Susanna Rowson, and Hobomok, by Lydia Maria Francis Child, the word Colonial clusters around the keyword Sex.In colonial times, women did not have any rights and were subject to the whims and wishes of men. In his discussion of colonialism and gender, Kizanjian states, "If the home or domestic sphere is figured as maternal, then the colonial sphere is readily figured as public, political and, and masculine"(56). This sense of paternal and maternal is prevalent in both Hobomok and Charlotte Temple. Charlotte, Mary , Montraville and Hobomok are all caught in situations in which they must navigate gender roles in both the public and private spheres. Both Rowson and Child employ the word in similar and also different ways. Both Child and Rowson bring out the ways in which women in Early America sometimes defied what was expected of them, but while Rowson's novel seems to reinforce woman's role in the domestic sphere, Child's work seems to question why instances of woman acting out of the norm has been passed over in history.

Masculinity and Femininity in the Colonial Context

• Montraville fought in the American Revolution, which was how the Americans gained their independence from England. Using his military charm he got Charlotte Temple to fall in love with him.

• In Charlotte Temple , there are very specific rules about how men and women should act, and, later in the novel, how an American should act. Here, Sex and Property are tied to Colonial. In Montraville, we see white masculinity portrayed as the gallant colonial figure who uses trickery to get what he wants from women- in both the public and domestic spheres. When Montraville tells his father he is going into the military,his father advises him to pick a wife "whose fortune is sufficient to preserve you in that state of independence", while warning him against having attachments to a women that he would have to support (40). After he crosses the ocean, Montraville's gender allows him to marry outside of his social class- something that would not have been likely for a women- guaranteeing his material security and allowing him to enter into American society.

• Like Montraville, LaRue is another figure who uses deception and lies to live in the public sphere.While she is married to Crayton, She is described as being a trendsetter who is admired by both women and men (100). Her desire for attention outside of the home leads her to an affair with another man (100-101), a relationship that does not coincide with the proper domestic image of an American wife during this time. LaRue does not make it in America, and instead meets her death in England (120). The figure of LaRue serves as an example for what could happen to a woman in Early America if she did not stick to her proscribed role.

Marriage and the Family

• Charlotte went to New York to live with Montraville. New York was one of the original thirteen colonies formerly belonging to England.

• When Charlotte got to New York she learned new things about the world she was now living in and the people in it. She found out that Mademoiselle La Rue was going to marry Colonel Crayton. Charlotte thought that she was going to marry Belcour. "Why I always understood they were to have been married when they arrived at New York. I am sure Mademoiselle told me Belcour promised to marry her (Rowson 60-61).

• Mary’s decision to marry Hobomok stems from the devastating loss of both her mother and Brown, as well as her estranged relationship with her father. “..powerful indeed must have been the superstition, which could induce so much beauty and refinement, even in a moment of desperation, to exchange the social band, stern and dark as it was, for the company of savages” (153). Mary’s break with the “social band” suggests that the types of old binding social contracts of the Puritans, negotiated through religion and social class and exclusive to those of a certain race, don’t seem to work anymore in America. Mary feels such a need to be married and cared for, that she allows herself to be cast out of public society in order to have a role in a domestic partnership. Mary’s role as Hobomok’s wife puts her in a situation outside of what was considered normal for a woman in colonial times, an uninhabited space that is only reconciled when Hobomok departs, Brown returns and they become a “traditional” family unit. Although both Brown and Mary are White, the fact that they raise little Hobomok together suggests that Child's novel is a type of meditation on how the typical American family has been portrayed (as all White, a product of the efforts and cultural values of White settlers). Coincidentally, this image of the family has often been portrayed as integral to the founding of the Nation, and as such, a part of the Nation itself. Child seems to want to say that the different forms of contact Native Americans had with White settlers shaped what America- and Americans- would become, but yet the way that many narratives about colonization have been told has tended to leave much out, especially when it comes to the ways that women navigated relationships of love and family, and the roles that people of color played in those relationships and in the establishment of the colony. We can understand Hobomok as a character that helped Mary to survive, and in doing so, was able to help the colony,or, as Child writes, "the tender slip" grow into a "mighty tree" under which "the nations of the earth seek refuge" (188).

Race, Sentiment, and Colonialism

Racial Superiority of the White Colonists

• "Colonial" discusses how European settlers in the thirteen colonies took land away from the Native Americans, and Mexico, as well as having slaves (Keywords 55). Jefferson seems to be very proud of having his own colony to look after and document, but his pride causes him to skim over important things such as Native Americans; he mentions them, but never shows any real concern about imposing himself on their land (which he also recognizes them as inhabiting)--in fact, it is often clear that he looks down upon them and sees the whole situation as more of an inconvenience than a problem. Jefferson not only looks down on Native Americans, but instead of realizing that people are already colonized on this land, believes them to be more animalistic than human because of their customs and skin color. He sees Native Americans and African Americans, for that matter, as animals that can be trained and manipulated to make life easier and more productive for the colonization of the "whites". "When the first effectual settlement of our colony was made, which was in 1607, the country from the sea-coast to the mountains, and from Patowmac to the most southern waters of James river, was occupied by upwards of forty different tribes of Indians" (98).
  • A random example of how colonial often has a negative connotation (see the above remark): In an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, a British character refers to Americans as "Bloody Colonials." Looking at how the Native Americans were destroyed by the settlers, it is easy to see where some animosity and bad opinions arise from.

• "Colonial" also refers to the mythical ways that colonists were viewed. The Declaration of Independence shows how the American colonists were controlled by Britain. They also blame Britain and the Native Americans for the way the Natives were treated while making themselves look innocent ( Keywords 53). There existed a kind of forced positive connotation to the word during the actual Colonial time period that now makes the word have an even worse connotation. This connotation provided justification for the mistreatment of African Americans, as well.
  • As David Kazanjian explains, "the fashioning of an American identity" that painted colonists as "innocent victims of conquest" (54) who had to make their own way in a foreign land paved the way for the image of the "heroic rebel and... exceptional U.S. citizen" (54) that American Whites would soon adopt, while drawing attention away from the horrific practices of slavery that they inflicted on people of color (54). Kazanjian employs the word Colonial in a way that shows a dual sense the word took on in the Early National period- as means of creating a national identity through the use of deception.
  • Jefferson was a slave owner, but he seemed to favor a select few. He had many children with his "favorite" slave and they were given a separate grave site. They were still his property, however, and therefore, still slaves. He considered himself to be superior and never seemed to really question that assumption. This is also mentioned on our property site.
• White colonists were not only simply thought to be superior to the Native Americans, but also partially responsible for them. The notion of "adoption" and of educating the Native Americans seemed to give whites a sense pride for civilizing the "savages;” it also seemed to reinforce the capability of Whites in establishing a stable colony.
  • In the case of Benjamin Franklin, the colonists’ responsibility over Native Americans is apparent during a treaty-signing: “As those people are extreamly apt to get drunk, and, when so, are very quarrelsome and disorderly, we strictly forbad the selling any liquor to them; and when they complain'd of this restriction, we told them that if they would continue sober during the treaty, we would give them plenty of rum when business was over.” (120). Franklin goes on to say that after the Native Americans received the rum and created a commotion, their orator apologized saying that the rum was designed by God and meant to be utilized. “And, indeed, if it be the design of Providence to extirpate these savages in order to make room for cultivators of the earth, it seems not improbable that rum may be the appointed means.” (121). Franklin contrasts the sentiments of the Natives – namely their belief that rum is meant to be consumed, as well as their heathen behavior – with those of the American colonists, who strive for order and control. His suggestion that “Providence” has designed the doom of Native Americans in order to “make room” for the Whites reflects the need to justify the White colonist presence in the new world. It also reinforces a central aspect of colonial identity by proving the "innocence" of those involved with Native Americans. After an especially drunk wild night by the Native Americans, old counselors were sent with their apology. “The Orator acknowledg’d the Fault, but laid it upon the Run; and then endeavor’d to excuse the Rum, by saying, “The great Spirit who made all things made everything for some Use, and whatever Use he design’d any thing for, that Use it should always be put to; Now, when he made Run, he said, Let this be for Indians to get Drunk with. And it must be so.” And indeed if it be the Design of Providence to extirpate these Savages in order to make room for Cultivators of the Earth, it seems not improbably that Rum may be the appointed Means. It has already annihilated all the Tribes who formerly inhabited the Sea-coast” (122, Franklin). This quotation, I believe not only shows the apparent responsibility of white colonists over Native Americans, but also is an outright admission of using liquor to “extirpate” Native Americans. By elaborating on this quotation and aspect of colonization, one is able to see just how large of an issue race was during the colonization period and how members of different races were truly treated in animalistic ways.

• • In the case of David Walker he feels that not only does Blacks not need to be colonized but that they are better off staying the way that they are. They have no need to change because they are set in their ways and whatever the White colonists bring to them will not only be useless but make them worse than they already are. He states this clearly on page 14 when he says, "They think because they hold us in their infernal chains of slavery, that we wish to be white, or of their color-but they are dreadfully deceived-we wish to be just as it pleased our Creator to have made us," Walker is showing how the colonists have the make them as we are mentality and the Blacks are totally opposed to this idea.
  • David Walker makes his point by saying that, “That is to say, to fix a plan to get those of the coloured people, who are said to be free, away from among those of our brethren whom they unjustly hold in bondage, so that they may be enabled to keep them the more secure in ignorance and wretchedness, to support them and their children, and consequently they would have the more obedient slaves. For if the free are allowed to stay among the slaves, they will have intercourse together, and, of course, the free will learn the slaves bad habits, by teaching them that they are MEN, as well as other people, and certainly ought and must be FREE” (49, Walker). This quotation, I believe, is very important in once again showing that white colonists, while enjoying the benefits of slavery, once freed, wanted the free to remove themselves or be removed so that they weren’t able to reproduce with or educated those who were still enslaved. They were unwelcome, and by law, made illegal, to colonize as white settlers were able, and I believe David Walker states this in a way which is mandatory in the discussion of racial segregation during white colonization.
  • Laws were even passed to ensure that African Americans were unable to colonize as white settlers were able."A law has recently passed the Legislature of this republican State (Georgia) prohibiting all free or slave persons of colour, from learning to read or write; another law has passed the prepublican House of Delegates, (but not the Senate) in Virgina, to prohibit all persons of colour, (free and slave) from learning to read or write, and even to hind them from meeting together in order to worship our Maker"(56. Walker)!!!!!)!!! This is just yet another example of how white settlers believed themselves to be superior and used all means necessary to create an unwelcome, uncomfortable environment for both free and enslaved African Americans. This example also shows how even when slaves were “freed”, they were still far from the social status of a white colonist, only because of their race.

Sentimentality in Strengthening Colonial Identity

• Writers used Native Americans, particularly within the colonial setting, to show the difference between British and American Literature, and to establish the identity of American literature and the nation as a whole. As Kazanjian states, “this fashioning of an American identity helped to generate the mythology of the innocent American colonial who became a heroic rebel and eventually an exceptional U.S. citizen.” (54). The pressing of newly-formed Colonial sentiments – their values, belief systems and emotions –upon and against Indians, particularly prominent in early American literature, seems to reflect a need to establish a solid, yet outstanding national identity.
  • In Thomas Jefferson’s Notes on the State of Virginia, Jefferson comments on the publishing of Logan’s speech, stating that “Combating , in these, the contumelious theory of certain European writers…that our country, from the combined effects of soil and climate, degenerated animal nature, in the general, and particularly the moral faculties of man, I considered the speech of Logan as an apt proof of the contrary, and used it as such…” (Appendix IV, 234). Logan’s speech resonates particularly with Jefferson, not only because it commands the “respect and commiseration of the world,” but also because it employs sentiments of morality and civility that American colonists strived for. In Jefferson’s case, the successful colonizing of American Indians in effect proves the former colony’s worth.
  • At the same time sentimentality is utilized in singling out notable indigenous Americans, Jefferson also uses it to contrast White Americans with them. Commenting on their reproduction, he states that “The same Indian women, when married to white traders, who feed them and their children plentifully…who exempt them from unnecessary drudgery, who keep them stationary…produce and raise as many children as the white women.” (65). The “right” sentiments in regard to child-rearing (namely having a sizeable, civilized family) distinguish the White Americans from Natives and, in this example, specifically highlight the importance of proper family sentiments in promoting “the American colonial” to an “exceptional U.S. citizen.”
• Sentimentality is used to gage the potentiality of the White colonists for becoming American citizens. It not only establishes the innocence and worth of the colonists, but also judges their ability to shape their own national identity.
  • In Hobomok, Child compares the central Native American character, Hobomok, to the Whites in the story. In one instance, Mary tells Sally of her love for Hobomok, stating it has matured with her realization of how he is a “kind, noble-hearted creature.” (172). Sally answers by telling Mary that she thinks “within these three years he has altered so much, that he seems almost like an Englishman. After all, I believe matches are foreordained.” The comparison of Hobomok to an Englishman, a nationality from which American colonists derived their sentiments and beliefs, justifies the ability of the colonists to establish a firm, acceptable identity like those of the English. As with Franklin, Child retains the importance of the meeting between uncultivated American potential and “foreordained” white colonization when she employs sentimentality. Furthermore, with his departing speech, Hobomok says that Mary “talks with the Great Spirit, and the name of the white man is on her lips” when she sleeps, and that “her heart is not with the Indian,” despite her kindness toward him. (174). Child suggests that the destiny of the Colony lies not with Native Americans themselves, but with their own sense of self as shaped by interactions with the indigenous parts of America. They have providence from “the Great Spirit” and are capable of transforming their nation using this sentiment.

Robert Adams was born in New York which was one of the original thirteen American colonies(Adams 27).

Since Robert Adams was an American from New York, he identifies himself as a white man. "Adams could not hear that any white man but themselves had ever been seen in the place"(47).

Since Robert Adams is an American from New York, other people identify him as a white man too. "On the women discovering Adams, they expressed great surprise at seeing a white man(55).

Again, Robert Adams identifies himself as a white man since he is an American from New York. "The only other white resident at Wadinoon was a Frenchman, who informed Adams that he had been wrecked about twelve years before (60).