--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In this becalmed zone the sea has a…" description: "\"“In this becalmed zone the sea has a smooth surface, the palm-tree stirs gently in the breeze, the waves lap against the pebbles and raw materials are ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a8/frantz-fanon-3566_colonialism_in-this-becalmed-zone-the-sea-has-a-smoo_1529484.jpg" --- # In this becalmed zone the sea has a smooth surface, the… ![“In this becalmed zone the sea has a smooth surface, the palm-tree stirs gently in the breeze, the waves lap against the pebbles and raw materials are ceaselessly transported, justifying the presence of the settler; and all the while the native, bent double, near dead than alive, exists…” quote by Frantz Fanon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a8/frantz-fanon-3566_colonialism_in-this-becalmed-zone-the-sea-has-a-smoo_1529484.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a8/frantz-fanon-3566_colonialism_in-this-becalmed-zone-the-sea-has-a-smoo_1529484.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a8/frantz-fanon-3566_colonialism_in-this-becalmed-zone-the-sea-has-a-smoo_1529484.jpg) > ““In this becalmed zone the sea has a smooth surface, the palm-tree stirs gently in the breeze, the waves lap against the pebbles and raw materials are ceaselessly transported, justifying the presence of the settler; and all the while the native, bent double, near dead than alive, exists interminably in an unchanging dream. The settler makes history; his life is an epoch, an Odyssey... Over against him torpid creatures, wasted by fever, obsessed by ancestral customs, form an almost inorganic background for the innovating dynamism of colonial mercantilism.”” [Frantz Fanon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frantz-fanon/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Describes colonialism as a disruptive force that alienates natives while settlers create history. **In simple terms:** Colonialism alienates natives, glorifies settlers. Key Takeaway Recognize and challenge oppressive narratives. Themes colonialism history identity power resistance Mood critical somber Type analytical historical When to use this quote - education curricula - policy analysis - community activism - media critique Key Concepts postcolonial theory cultural alienation Questions to Reflect On - How does this perspective reshape your view of history? - What actions can counteract colonial narratives? A Different Perspective Complex dynamics may oversimplify varied experiences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Colonialism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/colonialism/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Imperialism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imperialism/) [Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Racism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/racism/) ## Related quotes > [The settler makes history and is conscious of making it. And because he constantly refers to the history of his mother country, he clearly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frantz-fanon/the-settler-makes-history-and-is-conscious-of-making-it-and-because/) [Frantz Fanon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frantz-fanon/) > [In the colonial context the settler only ends his work of breaking in the native when the latter admits loudly and intelligibly the supremacy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frantz-fanon/in-the-colonial-context-the-settler-only-ends-his-work-of-breaking-in/) [Frantz Fanon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frantz-fanon/) > [The British inclined more towards the feudal mentality, the feudal structures rather than the more radical progressive elements who would re-shape society and institute…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wole-soyinka/the-british-inclined-more-towards-the-feudal-mentality-the-feudal/) [Wole Soyinka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wole-soyinka/) > [The process of decolonisation in Nigeria was a very untidy one. The British, when they were leaving finally and knew exactly who they wanted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wole-soyinka/the-process-of-decolonisation-in-nigeria-was-a-very-untidy-one-the/) [Wole Soyinka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wole-soyinka/) > [“Papuan ancestors never begged for survival. They engineered it. They did not ask the world for permission to exist; they organised their lives in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yamin-kogoya/papuan-ancestors-never-begged-for-survival-they-engineered-it-they/) [Yamin Kogoya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yamin-kogoya/) > [The central objective in decolonising the African mind is to overthrow the authority which alien traditions exercise over the African. This demands the dismantling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinweizu-ibekwe/the-central-objective-in-decolonising-the-african-mind-is-to/) Chinweizu Ibekwe > [The Arab Spring reminds me a bit of the decolonisation process where one country gets independence, and everybody else wants it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/the-arab-spring-reminds-me-a-bit-of-the-decolonisation-process-where/) [Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/) > [“The greatest tragedy is not that Papuans disappear. It is that Papua disappears while Papuans remain.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yamin-kogoya/the-greatest-tragedy-is-not-that-papuans-disappear-it-is-that-papua/) [Yamin Kogoya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yamin-kogoya/) > [“I told him. And as I walked on I was lonely no longer. I was a guide, a pathfinder, an original settler. He had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/i-told-him-and-as-i-walked-on-i-was-lonely-no-longer-i-was-a-guide-a/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [“Concession to concession, this night is ours. With lots of blueprint houses burning their brick-base settler dream into the land Tecumseh died for.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-a-lockhart/concession-to-concession-this-night-is-ours-with-lots-of-blueprint/) D.A. Lockhart > [“he settler's feet are never visible, except perhaps in the sea; b ut there you're never close enough to see t h e m.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/he-settler-s-feet-are-never-visible-except-perhaps-in-the-sea-b-ut/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“ARE YOU A SETTLER, DRIVER, OR REBEL?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darrin-patrick/are-you-a-settler-driver-or-rebel/) [Darrin Patrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darrin-patrick/) > [Water is a pioneer which the settler follows, taking advantage of its improvements.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/water-is-a-pioneer-which-the-settler-follows-taking-advantage-of-its/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [The settler and pioneer have at bottom had justice on their side; this great continent could not have been kept as nothing but a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/the-settler-and-pioneer-have-at-bottom-had-justice-on-their-side-this/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [The history of the United States is a history of settler colonialism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxanne-dunbar-ortiz/the-history-of-the-united-states-is-a-history-of-settler-colonialism/) [Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxanne-dunbar-ortiz/) ## More by Frantz Fanon > [The unpreparedness of the educated classes, the lack of practical links between them and the mass of the people, their laziness, and, let it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frantz-fanon/the-unpreparedness-of-the-educated-classes-the-lack-of-practical/) [Frantz Fanon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frantz-fanon/) > [“The passion with which native intellectuals defend the existence of their national culture may be a source of amazement; but those who condemn this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frantz-fanon/the-passion-with-which-native-intellectuals-defend-the-existence-of/) [Frantz Fanon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frantz-fanon/) > [One avoids Creolisms. Some families completely forbid Creole and mothers ridicule their children for speaking it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frantz-fanon/one-avoids-creolisms-some-families-completely-forbid-creole-and/) [Frantz Fanon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frantz-fanon/) > [Hate demands existence, and he who hates has to show his hate in appropriate actions and behaviors; in a sense, he has to become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frantz-fanon/hate-demands-existence-and-he-who-hates-has-to-show-his-hate-in/) [Frantz Fanon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frantz-fanon/) > [Fervor is the weapon of choice for the impotent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frantz-fanon/fervor-is-the-weapon-of-choice-for-the-impotent/) [Frantz Fanon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frantz-fanon/) > [Capitalist exploitation and cartels and monopolies are the enemies of underdeveloped countries. On the other hand a regime which is completely oriented towards the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frantz-fanon/capitalist-exploitation-and-cartels-and-monopolies-are-the-enemies-of/) [Frantz Fanon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frantz-fanon/) > [The living expression of the nation is the collective consciousness in motion of the entire people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frantz-fanon/the-living-expression-of-the-nation-is-the-collective-consciousness/) [Frantz Fanon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frantz-fanon/) > [“The claim to a national culture in the past does not only rehabilitate that nation and serve as a justification for the hope of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frantz-fanon/the-claim-to-a-national-culture-in-the-past-does-not-only/) [Frantz Fanon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frantz-fanon/) > [The business of obscuring language is a mask behind which stands the much bigger business of plunder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frantz-fanon/the-business-of-obscuring-language-is-a-mask-behind-which-stands-the/) [Frantz Fanon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frantz-fanon/) > [Get used to me, I am not getting used to anyone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frantz-fanon/get-used-to-me-i-am-not-getting-used-to-anyone/) [Frantz Fanon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frantz-fanon/) > [“To speak pidgin to a Negro makes him angry, because he himself is a pidgin-nigger-talker. But, I will be told, there is no wish,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frantz-fanon/to-speak-pidgin-to-a-negro-makes-him-angry-because-he-himself-is-a/) [Frantz Fanon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frantz-fanon/) > [“Nor will we acquiesce in the help for underdeveloped countries being a program of “sisters of charity.” This help should be the ratification of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frantz-fanon/nor-will-we-acquiesce-in-the-help-for-underdeveloped-countries-being/) [Frantz Fanon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frantz-fanon/) > [The oppressed will always believe the worst about themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frantz-fanon/the-oppressed-will-always-believe-the-worst-about-themselves/) [Frantz Fanon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frantz-fanon/) > [“Everything can be explained to the people, on the single condition that you really want them to understand.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frantz-fanon/everything-can-be-explained-to-the-people-on-the-single-condition/) [Frantz Fanon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frantz-fanon/) > [For the beloved should not allow me to turn my infantile fantasies into reality: On the contrary, he should help me to go beyond…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frantz-fanon/for-the-beloved-should-not-allow-me-to-turn-my-infantile-fantasies/) [Frantz Fanon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frantz-fanon/) [Explore all 113 Frantz Fanon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frantz-fanon/) ## More Colonialism quotes > [Here's the reality. The image of a white Jesus has been used to justify enslavement, conquest, colonialism, the genocide of indigenous peoples. There are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-wise/here-s-the-reality-the-image-of-a-white-jesus-has-been-used-to/) [Tim Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-wise/) > [“All cultures have, furthermore, an economic, social, and political base, and no culture can continue to live if its political destiny is not in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/all-cultures-have-furthermore-an-economic-social-and-political-base/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [It's with them that we have constituted a liberation front and brought our logistic support to armies to help their countries come out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ahmed-ben-bella/it-s-with-them-that-we-have-constituted-a-liberation-front-and/) [Ahmed Ben Bella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ahmed-ben-bella/) > [“European emigrants and their descendants are all over the place, which requires explanation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-w-crosby/european-emigrants-and-their-descendants-are-all-over-the-place-which/) [Alfred W. Crosby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-w-crosby/) > [“The human race comes from Africa, but inhumanity originated in Europe.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/the-human-race-comes-from-africa-but-inhumanity-originated-in-europe/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [The history of the United States is a history of settler colonialism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxanne-dunbar-ortiz/the-history-of-the-united-states-is-a-history-of-settler-colonialism/) [Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxanne-dunbar-ortiz/) > [“The oppressed peoples of the earth are not objects for the exquisite turmoil of European consciences. They are subjects from which to learn how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-badiou/the-oppressed-peoples-of-the-earth-are-not-objects-for-the-exquisite/) [Alain Badiou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-badiou/) > [In order for the second scenario to win, the world would have to return where the struggle for independence and against Western colonialism and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-vltchek/in-order-for-the-second-scenario-to-win-the-world-would-have-to/) [Andre Vltchek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-vltchek/) > [“Holocaust Theatre (Naskaristana 2799) Most social issues are rooted in religion, most religious issues are rooted in politics, most political issues are vestiges of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/holocaust-theatre-naskaristana-2799-most-social-issues-are-rooted-in/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [We here in Egypt are fed up with U.S. colonialism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nawal-el-saadawi/we-here-in-egypt-are-fed-up-with-u-s-colonialism/) [Nawal El Saadawi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nawal-el-saadawi/) > [“The claim to a national culture in the past does not only rehabilitate that nation and serve as a justification for the hope of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frantz-fanon/the-claim-to-a-national-culture-in-the-past-does-not-only/) [Frantz Fanon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frantz-fanon/) > [“To be sure, the church has greatly assisted the colonialist; backing his ventures, helping his conscience, contributing to the acceptance of colonization even by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-memmi/to-be-sure-the-church-has-greatly-assisted-the-colonialist-backing/) [Albert Memmi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-memmi/) > [“A warrior confronts colonialism with the truth in order to regenerate authenticity and recreate a life worth living and principles worth dying for. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taiaiake-alfred/a-warrior-confronts-colonialism-with-the-truth-in-order-to-regenerate/) Taiaiake Alfred > [“Europeans would like to escape from their history, a "great" history written in letters of blood. But others, by the hundreds of millions, are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-aron/europeans-would-like-to-escape-from-their-history-a-great-history/) [Raymond Aron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-aron/) > [“To speak pidgin to a Negro makes him angry, because he himself is a pidgin-nigger-talker. But, I will be told, there is no wish,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frantz-fanon/to-speak-pidgin-to-a-negro-makes-him-angry-because-he-himself-is-a/) [Frantz Fanon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frantz-fanon/) [Browse all 349 Colonialism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/colonialism/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“In this becalmed zone the sea has a smooth surface, the palm-tree stirs gently in the breeze, the waves lap against the pebbles and raw materials are ceaselessly transported, justifying the presence of the settler; and all the while the native, bent double, near dead than alive, exists interminably in an unchanging dream. The settler makes history; his life is an epoch, an Odyssey... Over against him torpid creatures, wasted by fever, obsessed by ancestral customs, form an almost inorganic background for the innovating dynamism of colonial mercantilism.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Frantz Fanon" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frantz-fanon/in-this-becalmed-zone-the-sea-has-a-smooth-surface-the-palm-tree/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Colonialism" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frantz-fanon/in-this-becalmed-zone-the-sea-has-a-smooth-surface-the-palm-tree/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a8/frantz-fanon-3566_colonialism_in-this-becalmed-zone-the-sea-has-a-smoo_1529484.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a8/frantz-fanon-3566_colonialism_in-this-becalmed-zone-the-sea-has-a-smoo_1529484.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a8/frantz-fanon-3566_colonialism_in-this-becalmed-zone-the-sea-has-a-smoo_1529484.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“In this becalmed zone the sea has a smooth surface, the palm-tree stirs gently in the breeze, the waves lap…” — Frantz Fanon", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Frantz Fanon", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frantz-fanon/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“In this becalmed zone the sea...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frantz-fanon/in-this-becalmed-zone-the-sea-has-a-smooth-surface-the-palm-tree/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frantz-fanon/in-this-becalmed-zone-the-sea-has-a-smooth-surface-the-palm-tree/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```