What was initially most notable to me was how class roles were maintained even in slavery. Oroonoko has the other slaves fall at his feet in reverence even after his royal “habit” is replaced. I was also interested in the rapport that Trefry has with Oroonoko, he goes as far as to say he is pleased that he has been reunited with Imoinda (“a little satisfy’d, that Heaven was so kind to the Prince as to sweeten his Misfortunes by so lucky an accident” (Aphra Benn)). The idea that a slavemaster could be kind to a slave in some way is not inconceivable, but to have a kind of casual relationship with a person whom you are keeping imprisoned for the purpose of performing slave labor seems ludicrous. I would be interested to read oral histories of slaves describing the demeanor of their enslavers to see if this attitude was present in history.

“[…] he [Oroonoko] saw a kind of Sincerity, and aweful Truth in the Face of Trefry; he saw honesty in his Eyes, and he found him wise and witty enough to understand honour: for it was one of his Maxims, A Man of Wit could not be a Knave or Villain.”

If I understand this quote correctly, Oroonko has a kind of reverence for Trefry. I would like to better understand Oroonoko could not see the irony in Trefry’s maxim as it seems a man of wit has now enslaved him.

My question is: was it regular throughout history for slaves formerly possessing royal titles or who could speak multiple languages, including English, to be treated better?