Imperialism, Racism, and Morality Theme Analysis

Even as a child, Rooke's moral compass is highly developed. While in school, he is troubled by a classmate's assertion that the British Empire would crumble without slavery. Even though he's never met a black person at that point, he still understands that dehumanizing people because of the color of their skin is morally wrong. As Rooke matures and witnesses firsthand both slavery in the Caribbean and the racist attitudes of his fellow soldiers in New South Wales, he continues to develop his moral intuition that difference is not the same as superiority, and he begins to truly question the moral implications of the racial hierarchy set out by his companions.

Rooke occupies a somewhat precarious place in the conquering Western world. On one hand, he voluntarily joins the British marines and is absolutely complicit in the imperial violence of the British project of colonizing faraway lands. On the other, Rooke quietly and privately distances himself from the racist mindsets of many of his companions by turning to the emotionless pursuits of math and science. It's important to note that when Rooke joins the marines, he does so because he believes it will give him the opportunity to continue his morally superior scientific and mathematical pursuits and avoid violence. For a while, it appears as though Rooke's goals will all come true: he works in navigation during most of the American Revolutionary War, and occupies a position of relative power during the journey to New South Wales. During these times, however, Rooke sees himself as deserving of the lands he visits. Though he certainly doesn't feel entitled to the people in the same sense that the slaveholders do, Rooke does feel as though he has a right to be taught the languages and customs of both the Caribbean slaves and the Cadigal people in New South Wales. This shows that even if Rooke sets out to do no harm, by virtue of participating in the military exercises of the British marines, Rooke forms the mindset that justifies entitlement to people, lands, and languages. Essentially, the violence perpetuated by the British military isn't just based on the strength of their weapons--it's rooted in a belief in the superiority of white, British people, and the consequent inferiority of everyone and everything else.

Though Rooke realizes in Antigua that the black slaves there are people like any other, it's not until he begins to form relationships with the Cadigal people in New South Wales that he truly begins to question the moral implications of his involvement with the British "imperial machine," as he calls it. Rooke's first few meetings with the Cadigal show that he still believes in his entitlement to the Cadigal language: rather than feeling horror that the governor ordered Lieutenant Gardiner to capture two native men and forces them to share their language, Rooke is only fascinated to see them up close. Similarly, when he sees native men walking near his observatory, he decides to insist on being acknowledged (though he never gets the opportunity): a selfish assertion that his desires are more pressing than whatever the men are doing.

Though the First Fleet is supposed to establish friendly contact with the natives, Rooke soon learns that "friendly contact" is often decidedly not friendly. He's shocked when Tagaran and Tugear arrive at his observatory one day bleeding from a beating at the hands of a white soldier, seemingly unprovoked. Similarly, though the Cadigal supposedly spear the gamekeeper Brugden without provocation, there's strong evidence that suggests the Cadigal speared him in retaliation of his own unconfirmed, but likely cold-blooded violence against the natives. Rooke does his best to ignore the rising tensions, but is finally pushed to action when he learns the true purpose of the punitive expedition: if the natives prove impossible to capture alive, the governor insists that the party bring back six severed heads to send a message to the natives. When he learns this, Rooke understands that the governor doesn't see the Cadigal as people worth reasoning with (or, for that matter, people who are understandably fed up with an extended stay of uninvited guests). Because Rooke truly believes that the Cadigal are people, not trophies waiting to be taken, he finally decides to remove himself from the imperial system and expresses regret that he participated in the expedition, which leads to his expulsion from the military. Rooke goes on to spend the last forty years of his life in Antigua, purchasing and then freeing black slaves. In doing this, Rooke tries to do his part to atone for his complicity in the British imperial system. This suggests, finally, that Rooke learned that the most effective way to be a morally righteous person in the world is to actively fight immorality, as complicity with violence is little different than carrying out the violence oneself.