Oroonoko

Oroonoko chronicles the story of the African prince Oroonoko and his beloved wife Imoinda, who are captured by the British and brought to Surinam as slaves. The tale is set primarily in this locale on the northern coast of South America during the 1640s, just before the English surrendered the colony to the Dutch.The fictive story of the African prince Oroonoko emerges from this historical, economic, social and cultural background. European plantation owners in need of slave labor contracted for a number of African slaves to be transported.

Once being a prince and holding certain views on life and politics, Oroonoko seems to be a hypocrite when dealing with slavery. One would definitely think that any man would fight for his freedom, whether he was captured in war, or simply deceived. Oroonoko does not voice this opinion, however, and feels that if he had been captured in war, he would not revolt against his slave master.