Fownhope’s Heart of Oak Society traces its roots to the age of friendly societies, when communities provided their own safety net. Its anniversary celebrations reveal a tradition still very much alive, says MARK SEDDON
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Robinson Crusoe: A colonial template
STEVEN WALKER looks at the themes of colonialism and white supremacy in Daniel Defoe’s famous adventure novel, published 300 years ago this month
Crusoe standing over Friday after he frees him from the cannibals
ANGUS REID explains the significance of Cuba’s egalitarian in letter and spirit Family Code and the pertinent lessons it holds for democracies anywhere in the world
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NICK WRIGHT considers how the isolation of Israel and a new film on the controversial Italian communist leader are creating new reference points for Italy’s left
CARLOS MARTINEZ says Cuba’s achievements in the face of a criminal blockade are startling, but the island’s future if the United States succeeds in crushing it looks bleak
AMNON BROWNFIELD STEIN reports that far-right MPs who mobbed the event organised by Hadash may have helped raise awareness of the brutality of the Israeli right
IT IS 300 years since the publication of Daniel Defoe’s adventure novel, Robinson Crusoe.
It’s one of the biggest selling books by a British author and works as a gripping adventure for young readers.
But underneath the derring-do, jeopardy, solitude and survival is a story with underpinnings in colonialism, slavery and exploitation.
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