Daniel Defoe’s *Robinson Crusoe* occupies a central position in eighteenth-century British literature as a narrative that simultaneously celebrates individual enterprise and legitimizes colonial expansion. Published at a time when Britain was rapidly consolidating its imperial power and commercial dominance, the novel reflects emerging economic ideologies grounded in capitalism, mercantilism, and Protestant individualism. Through the story of Crusoe’s survival, labor, and mastery over unfamiliar territory, Defoe constructs a literary model of the self-made individual while embedding within it assumptions that justify colonial domination and economic exploitation. The theme of individualism is most visibly expressed through Crusoe’s separation from society and his subsequent attempt to recreate civilization on a deserted island. Unlike earlier heroic narratives that depended upon divine intervention or communal cooperation, Crusoe’s survival is primarily presented as the result of rational planning, discipline, and persistent labor. His identity develops through work—cultivating land, domesticating animals, building shelter, and organizing resources. This emphasis reflects eighteenth-century Protestant ethics that associated personal success with industriousness and moral virtue. Crusoe repeatedly interprets his material progress as evidence of divine favor, suggesting that economic productivity and spiritual worth are interconnected. Crusoe’s individualism also mirrors the rising middle-class ideology of Britain during the eighteenth century. The novel celebrates economic self-reliance rather than aristocratic inheritance. Crusoe rejects his father’s advice to remain within the “middle station” of life, choosing instead commercial adventure and maritime trade. His journey symbolizes the expanding aspirations of a mercantile society driven by profit