As Takaki explains, for centuries the English had subjected the Irish to colonial oppression. The vast majority of Irish land was owned by a Protestant elite which owed its loyalty to the British crown. Furthermore, domestic industry was run entirely for the benefit of the colonial power, not for the Irish people themselves. To add insult to injury, Catholic Irish—who formed the overwhelming majority of the population—were systemically denied civil rights and excluded from participation in the political system on account of their religion.

The English took their colonialist attitudes with them to the New World, where they proceeded to treat Native Americans in much the same way as they had done the Irish. Indigenous land was stolen, and its rightful owners driven off by the newcomers. English settlers then exploited the land for their own benefit, seeing it as an economic resource as well as a dwelling-place. And once political institutions were established, there was no question of Native Americans being allowed to participate in them. Once again, the parallels with England's treatment of Ireland are hard to avoid.