Colonizing Land by Sea: Oceanic Trade and Travel in Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe

Abstract:Scholars of Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe have identified terrestrial concepts like land enclosure as keys to understanding Crusoe's colonial practices. Building on the field of oceanic humanities, however, I argue that Crusoe's claim to the island derives from his understanding of the sea as open to possession. Specifically, this article argues that Crusoe uses the island's distance from European maritime routes to mark it a claimable space outside European sovereignty. He also appropriates indigenous seafaring knowledge and maritime networks before converting the island into his own overseas colony by plying imperial routes of traffic and trade.