e "war against men who are harmlessunarmed, and destitute of every human defense" (p. 26). Montaigne writes disapprovingly,"He who had awarded their country to him must be a man fond of dissention, to go and give another person something that was not his and thus set him at strife with its ancient possessors." (Of Coaches, p.67)With this, Montaigne describes how the Europeans ignore the fact that the natives have any rights to property. Again, the Europeans ignore the humanity of the Indians.Like the colonialists of de Las Casas and Montaignes essays, Shakespeares Europeans overlook Indian humanity when they seize the native land. Though Caliban defends his rights when he says, "this islands mine by Sycorax my mother which thou takst from me" (p. 19) all Prospero hears are the words of an ugly, ignorant savage. Prospero pays no more heed to Calibans complaint than he would the lowing of a cow. To Prospero, both are animals meant for service.In spite of their similarity, Shakespeare, de Las Casas, and Montaigne portray natives and colonialism in very different manners. De Las Casas insists that it is wrong to attack a childlike culture. Montaigne maintains that the natives are already a highly civilized people. In Shakespeare, the European actions that de Las Casas and Montaigne despise come to life. For Prospero, the native culture that Montaigne deems "evolved" and de Las Casas calls "gentle" is simply different and inferior. Montaigne says, "each man calls barbarism whatever is not his own practice" (Of Cannibals, p.58). Without understanding Montaignes true meaning, Prospero would wholeheartedly agree. Caliban certainly does not partake in the "practice" of Prospero. Like the natives in de Las Casas and Montaignes New World, Caliban has a different appearance and language. However, where Montaigne and de Las Casas are proponents of respecting differences, Shakespeares Europeans use those differences to defend robbery an...
