Caliban is indeed a representation of the native people. He is not like anyone who as washed up on the island because he was born and grew up on that island. In addition, he was never really treated as a person, but merely as a slave. Even when he met Stephano and Trinculo, he was never referred to as more than a "monster," never a human being. Caliban, being a native was able to "show thee the best springs...pluck the berries..." which are all characteristics of a native.
In correspondence to the Postcolonism article, Shakespeare seems to have connected his characters to this time period. Caliban is indeed a native because he knows exactly of where he comes from and of what is around him. As disscussed by Said, "the basic thought behind colonization: ["] They're not like us, and for that reason deserved to be ruled.["]." Caliban was immediately taken over after his mother was killed. He was different from Prospero and Miranda, therefore making him automatically their slave in Prospero's eyes. Isn't this the case for most natives in one way or another? Natives generally get their land taken striahgt from their fingertips by a more powerful force that sweeps the land. Claiban in a way can also illustrate the term Orientalism- this term explains how Orientals were looked at as being "indolent, thoughtless, unreliable. and demented." Caliban could also fit this stereotype in the eyes of those who meet him. Stephano,at first sight refers to him as "some monster of the isle ith four legs... Where the devil should he learn our language." Stephano had no idea that there were others on the idland and instantly assumes that Caliban knows of nothing, he is merely a souless native.
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