<P> This dissertation explores literary representations of North American Indigenous people
in eighteenth-century British texts. Throughout the century, "Indians" appeared
frequently in British print culture, in newspapers, periodicals, and travel narratives, but
the primary focus in this work is on imaginative writing such as novels, plays, poetry, and
essays. Many of these texts are surprisingly overlooked, and scholarship regularly
diminishes the significance of Indians in literature during the period. I argue that these
texts explore modernity through Indigenous subjectivity, and ultimately contribute to the
shaping of modem British identity. </p> <p> While the figure of the Indian is often thought of as a primitive "noble savage,"
Indians were also used to negotiate modem discourses which Britons were beginning to
encounter throughout the eighteenth century. The important developments in British
culture during the time, such as the forming of a unified British identity, the rise of
capitalism and consumerism, and empire, impacted the lives and identities of Britons, and
the Indian was used as a kind of "other self' to negotiate their effects. This dynamic
began with texts surrounding the 1710 visit by four Iroquois "Indian kings" to London a
few years following the Acts of Union, and increased mid-century as conflict in the
colonies escalated. First Nations people began to play an important strategic role and
were more frequently encountered by British soldiers and travellers, which led to a rise in
textual representation in the metropolis. Both as critics of European culture and
discursive sites upon which to project emerging cultural forces, Indians functioned as
imagined modem subjects; by the end of the century, the figure of the Indian became
appropriated by the Romantics and other writers, and the hybrid Briton who internalized
Indigenous fortitude and cultural tenacity became the corrective to the decadence and
corruption of European culture. </p> / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:mcmaster.ca/oai:macsphere.mcmaster.ca:11375/19451 |
| Date | 12 1900 |
| Creators | Richardson, Robbie |
| Contributors | Walmsley, Peter, English |
| Source Sets | McMaster University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
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