Robinson on Con Dao: mango writing and faltering diplomacy in the precursors of Crusoe in Vietnam

ABSTRACT

In this article, a reading of early travel literature confronts indifference to the latitudes of colonialism in resort tourism. The historical role of the East India Company needs to be told in its uneven and questionable coordinates – individualist, opportunist, exoticist, imperious, calculated, collective – in a way that acknowledges implied responsibilities. Might latter-day Robinsons be encouraged or even obliged to respect the past enough to seek out local histories as a kind of repair of the past? Wanting to place the interests of domestic visitors, respect for the dead, and martyrdom in a broader context, the article addresses some less often noticed connections in touristic invocation of Robinson Crusoe, reading Defoe’s book alongside some of its precursors. The article considers the work of the ‘real life’ pirate, navigator, captain, mapmaker, and journal writer, William Dampier. It also considers the unfortunate stewardship of the East India Company Factor Allan Catchpole on Con Dao. Resorting to archival histories and holiday reading, the article navigates an argument about diplomacy and colonial intrigue, raising issues for tourism and Vietnamese studies.

KEYWORDS:

• Robinson Crusoe
• Dampier
• Catchpole
• East India Company
• Con Dao
• Vietnam

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 A review by ‘Heddapopper’ from Sweden in December 2012 https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g1024873-d1929892-r148027926-Six_Senses_Con_Dao-Con_Son_Con_Dao_Islands_Ba_Ria_Vung_Tau_Province.html.

2 The first sign of Friday – the famous footprint – appears only after Crusoe has been alone on the island twenty-five years. Six Senses Resort, which relies upon high-end Western tourists, cannot have done so well when the Covid-19 pandemic halted most international travel to Vietnam in March 2020, even as the Vietnamese Government promoted a campaign for Người Việt Nam đi du lịch Việt Nam (Vietnamese people to visit Vietnam).

3 Tran’s second text dealing with the contested intricacies in the historical records on both sides of the Catchpoole [sic] story came too late for me to add much to this text, though besides spelling, we surely mostly agree.