Oroonoko Explored
Surinam and Commercialism
A major element in the story of Oroonoko was the growing commercialism of the era. This is exemplified through the growing transatlantic networks that connected Europe, Africa, and the New World together in the 17th century. The commodification of bodies through the transatlantic slavery system was obviously a major part of this new development, and Behn’s focus on an African prince thrown into slavery is hardly accidental. Even though Behn does not critique the traditional method of African slavery, perhaps her protagonist Oroonoko speaks for her as he critiques the evils of plantation slavery system forced upon noble figures. This system, however, was bound to the growing commercialism of the time, and, in large part pays for the increase of wealth that allowed commodities to be manufactured and sold throughout the Atlantic world.
Transatlantic Trade Route, From Creative Commons
However, in the late 17th century British manufacturing of goods was quite minor compared to what it would produce in the following century. Before 1800, much of the wealth produced from slavery in the New World poured into eastern markets. This is one of the reasons why eastern objects help to furnish the English in Surinam, as they had products and practices such as fine textiles, Japanese lacquer, and Egyptian embalming, encouraging the East and the West to be connected through a growing commercialism (Yang 249).