On behalf of Sarah Ayers

In “The Complete English Tradesman,” novelist Daniel Defoe boasts about how wonderful his homeland is. According to him England is the greatest nation. There are many attributes that England has ranging from climate to trade to actual physical appearances that make England in Defoe’s mind so great. I sit on the fence so to speak. There are some points he make that I agree with but there are other points that I would have to say he is alone on.

“That our men are the stoutest and best because, strip them naked from the waist upwards, and give them no weapons at all but their hands and heels, and turn them into a room or stage, and lock them in with the like number of other men of any nation, man for man, and they shall beat the best men you shall find in the world.” Defoe claims that English men are physically stronger and better than any other man of a different nation. He also says that the climate itself puts England over the top.

Another point Defoe has is the trade in England. He feels it is what makes England so monumental. The important people in his country are tradesmen. Wealth is synonymous with trading. “…whose blood is the most untainted, as they call it, with the low mixtures of a mechanic race, are found in these; and, as is said before, they generally go beyond them in knowledge of the world, which is the best education.”

I agree that at the time England was a powerhouse. Of all the nations they certainly had the upper hand on many world affairs. However, I do not agree with Defoe’s actual beliefs as to why England was as great as it was. He says that just the physical appearance puts Englishmen above and beyond. As I recall, the Vikings were rather large men themselves and their bloodline was still alive at this time. Trade certainly was a plus for them but I do not agree that being a tradesman altered your genetic make-up. Money can certainly to wonders and that is why I think tradesmen were so “perfect”.