Analysis Of Aphra Behn's Oroonoko

The Early Modern period in England saw the politics of imperial powers “shape the diverse experiences of colonizer and colonized” (1), the number of trips increased and with them the exploration for discovering new territories, so that the questions of national identity were abundant throughout the eighteenth century. The new colonies gave rise to a new type of power over some different races; The relationship between conquerors and conquered meant the formation of new ways of asserting power. In Oroonoko, Aphra Behn represents the minds of some people in search of power and struggle.
The anxiety of barbarism can be seen plainly in Aphra Behn’s Oroonoko, as clearly it was in England’s society. The “nation's inability to tolerate the Stuart

The philosophy was one of natural slavery that deemed if anyone whose "function is the use of their bodies and nothing better," is by nature a slave. (12) Behn shows her awareness of the philosophical discussions within Oroonoko by incorporating the theme of ‘natural slaves’ into her text; the narrator talks of trying to make free those “who were by nature slaves” and that they were only “fit for such masters” (13) that could control them.
A key component of the texts through which the distribution of power can be seen is trade; whether in the monetary sense or something intangible. In Behn’s Oroonoko the prince is the one enabling trade between the colony and the native Indians, allowing them both to live in “perfect tranquillity”.(14) The need for trade with the native peoples came from their knowledge of “where to seek the best food… and the means of getting it” (15), hence they were considered “very useful” so it was “absolutely necessary” to treat them as “friends” and not “treat ‘em as slaves” (16). The way in which the native race is treated in comparison to the Africans who became slaves is vastly different; where trade with the Indians was valued, it was thought that the Africans had nothing to offer, so were deemed “merchandise”.