Oroonoko, or, the Royal Slave a True History by Aphra Behn
This month's featured text is Aphra Behn's Oroonoko, or The royal slave: a true history. This novel was first written in 1688, by the well known Restoration playwright, Aphra Behn. Behn was perhaps the first professional woman writer in England and was the second most prolific writer during the Restoration (John Dryden was the most prolific). She is perhaps best known for her plays like The Rover (reputed to be Charles II's favorite play), Sir Patient Fancy, and The Feigned Courtesans. She also wrote several well known volumes of poetry and prose, such as the novel Oroonoko. Oroonoko is probably based on experiences Behn Herself had when she lived in the colony of Surinam, later Dutch Guiana while she was there between 1663 and 1664. The novel tells a story about an African prince named Oroonoko who falls in love with a woman Imoinida, who is sold into slavery. Later, Oroonoko himself is tricked into entering an English slaving ship and sold into slavery himself in the English colony of Guiana. There, Oroonoko is reunited with Imoinida and leads a revolt against his English masters. It is unsuccessful, and Oroonoko is captured, tortured, and eventually executed by the English.

Oroonoko, or The royal slave: a true history is a significant novel on several levels. First, it gives scholars of this period one of the first glimpses ofearly modern attitudes about Africa and the African slave trade. Behn portrays the colony of Surinam as a land of great paradoxes. The colonizers are "civilized" yet they habitually beat and torture their slaves. Oroonoko himself is a "noble" savage. He comes from royal blood in Africa, but is forced into bondage by people he once trusted. It is interesting to note that throughout the novel, the author insists that an African can be a hero and that Europeans do not have the monopoly on civilization. Second, it is a novel written by a woman and its narrator is a woman. The story elevates the status of women, but represents that they too are in a way slaves to the will of their male captors. Third, it reflects political ideologies of the period. According to the narrator, Oroonoko had heard about the execution of Charles I, and in the end dies much like Charles did, as a martyr. In all, Orronoko is a fascinating text that helps scholars understand the origins of the African slave trade and European attitudes toward both Africans and women during the early modern period.

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