Aphra Behn and Oroonoko- By Chris Ponzi

The country to which the fictional Oroonoko belongs to is Surinam, but scholars aren't entirely sure if Behn actually visited Surinam or not, bust most likely she did, but it is generally regarded that the narrator of Behn's story Oroonoko, Or The Royal Slave, is not Behn herself. It's interesting however that most of the white characters in the colony in Surinam in the story were actually present in real life according to records. Aphra Behn, who was a fierce Royalist and actually a spy for Charles II, usually bases her fictional characters from political sentiments, usually portraying Republicans/Parliamentary individuals in a negative light; in this story, however, Byam and Bannister, who in real life were actual Royalists, are very evil and awful people, especially to Oroonoko. This might suggest that Behn wasn't in Surinam at this time and just knew the names of these men, or that she just didn't factor in her political sentiments.

Models for the character of Oroonoko could come from several sources, and one thought is that the colonial Oroonoko is based off of a white settler in Surinam named John Allin, who was a disgruntled alcoholic desiring independence, wounded the Surinam governor, and was then taken to prison where he killed himself of an overdose. If and when Behn was in Surinam, she would have seen African slaves from Ghana being transported to the colony, and that is where she would have received her inspiration regarding the physical aspects of Africans, though Oroonoko has a roman nose and straight black hair. Oroonoko could also be influenced by a fictional character named Oroondates from the novel Cassandra, who was a Prince that had his his wife taken by an older king, like with Oroonoko. The name "Caesar" for Oroonoko could also be based off the novel Cleopatra , where a captured slave named Juba is given the name Coriolanus by his captors.