Exploration and Exploitation

  1. The Discovery of Guiana
    1. General
      1. flavor of original documents: primary sources
      2. discourse of the New World
      3. Colonial /Imperialist studies
        1. Utopians' attitude toward conquest
        2. Both Hebrew and Classical ideas of sending out colonies and displacing native inhabitants
      4. Gold Rush stories--the Promised Land; recruiting and real estate posters--early california
    2. Epistle Dedicatory
      1. Addressed to Cecil
      2. Self-defense and detraction 1056--court atmosphere
      3. Has to account for his failure past and present
      4. Competition with Spaniards--black legend; Iago
      5. Tall tale of more gold than in Peru
    3. To the Reader
      1. He tested and ruled out pyrite--marcasite
      2. He brought back small samples which tested high in gold
      3. Reasons why he couldnt bring more samples back--
        1. Too hard to extract; difficulty of getting into the country--rivers and jungle
        2. They were four hundred miles from coast
      4. Strategic importance of Gold
        1. We should be getting it because Charles V of Spain "who had the maidenhead of Peru" is doing that and his success has enabled him to recover from the defeat of the Armada and continue to threaten us internationally. 1059
        2. Cf. Utopians use of gold strategically.
        3. Ralegh's sarcasm
        4. The maidenhead of peru
        5. Ralegh as warmonger--vs. James I
    4. The Amazons--anthropology
      1. What he hears from native about the women warriors--myth and exploration--relation to European mythology--Elizabeth is Queen; Hippolyta in MND
      2. Interest in foreign cultures
      3. Connection explored to other amazonian groups1061
      4. Partying in April: "The rest cast lots for their Valentines"--returning male children and keeping females
      5. Cruelty.
    5. The Orinoco
      1. Geographic description--the rivers--exploration of nature, the real world, rather than Dante
      2. Recording names and language
      3. Architecture--physical anthropology
      4. Sustenance: hunt and gather
      5. Admiration for their appearance and virtue
      6. Funereal customs
      7. Agenda of getting English to side with them against Spanish--the Black Legend
    6. King of Aromaia
      1. The king--110 years old--walks 14 miles to bring them tribute 1062--could be
      2. Material gifts and pets and medicines
      3. Gives information that the local warring nations have now unified against the Spanish 1064
      4. Great praise of this king--a potential ally
    7. The New world of Guiana
      1. "To conclude, Guiana is a country that hath yet her maidenhead" 1064--cf. Virgin territory, virgin land, virgin queen
      2. An ideal place --easiness of conquest and of defense being conquered
        1. "By keeping one good fort or building one town of srenght, the whole empire is guarded"
      3. But one entrance by the sea--[cf. Utopia]--by land impossible to approach
      4. Location and military strategy
      5. West Indies offered to Henry VII by Columbus--example of conquistadorean method--and stirring competition with Spain
      6. Selling the conquest of this nation to Her Majesty
        1. Her loyal vassal
        2. The natives love her and hate spaniards
        3. "Her majesty may in this enterprise employ all those soldirs and gentlemen that are younger brethren, and all captians and chieftains that want employment" 1065 cf. Utopia
        4. chief city of Inca would yield many hudred thousands of pounds yearly
        5. cruel Spaniards. "he will be brought to tribute with great gladness, if not he hath neither shot nor iron weapon in all his empire and therefore may be easily conquered." 1066
        6. Amazons will hear name of virgin…which is able to invade and conquer
  2. Arthur Barlow 1584
    1. Lands at Virginia and takes possession for the queen
    2. Description of woods as paradise and wealthy in resources
    3. Native visits and is treated well and goes out and fishes for them 1068
    4. Observing the king's brother and way he is revered
    5. Local warfare
    6. The delegation loves their metal and their wine 1069--King's brother brings his wife
    7. Notice two classes established by costume and demeanor
    8. Cleverness: not letting natives know they valued pearl
    9. Great fertility of soil 1070
    10. People generous; great feasts--kind and loving people--live after the Golden Age--NB 1070
    11. "Idol which they worship, of whom they speak incredible things"
    12. their wonder at white skin, the ship, the harquebus creating great fear 1071
    13. their wars are very cruel and bloody
  3. Thomas Harriot 1586--Newfoundland of Virginia
    1. They are not to be feared…they shall have cause both to fear and love us 1071
    2. No edge tools or weapons of iron or steel
    3. "In respect of us they are a people poor, and for want of skill and judgment…do esteem our trifles before things of greater value…yet in those things they do show excellency of wit"1072
    4. Have the greater respect for pleasing and obeying us
    5. Their religion--will make it easy for us to make them "embrace the true religion"
      1. "For mankind they say a woman was made first…1072
    6. they thought our technology "were rather the works fo gods than of men"
    7. "…the truth of God and religion…was rather to be had from us whom God so specially loved." 1073
    8. any strange sickness, losses, hurts…they would impute to … offending or not pleasing us
    9. people died after our departure--from diseases--they attrribute to having done something bad to us
    10. they imagined other beings to come after us, who punished them for our sake with invisible bullets
    11. These ideas are presented to make clear how easy it will be to conquer indians--compare to Caliban