Abolitionist or Anti-Slavery?

Reading through Oroonoko, it is difficult to see whether this story is promoting slavery or condemning it. In the story, the narrator is quick to draw attention to Oroonoko’s dark skin, seemingly saying that he could be perfectly beautiful if not for his pigment. It is moments like these you cannot help but think, how could this possibly be condemning slavery when it is promoting racism? 

That is when I came to this conclusion: a person can absolutely be anti-slavery but still be racist. 

 

I also think it is important to point out there is a difference between anti-slavery and an abolitionist. For someone who was anti-slavery, they might have believed the institution of slavery is morally wrong (which it is). For an abolitionist, they also thought slavery was morally wrong, but they wanted to free the enslaved and incorporate them as equal members of society.

A person can be anti-slavery and not believe in abolition. Similarly, a person in modern day can be anti-police violence and not agree with the abolition of the policing institution.

Abraham Lincoln circa 1863

We can take Abraham Lincoln as an example. It has been argued for many decades whether Lincoln considered the races to be equal. In short, he did not. Lincoln’s thought process of slavery gets a little convoluted because he was also fighting a war. Some would say he was fighting the first modern war of our history, so the way he dealt with slavery ultimately became a war strategy. 

 

Before the war, Lincoln was anti-slavery. He viewed slavery as morally wrong, as most people who agreed with the anti-slavery notion. However, it is important to remember that Lincoln, as President, was required to abide by the law of the Constitution, according to History.com. Granted, the term slavery was never mentioned in the Constitution, but the founding fathers did ensure the protection of the institution through the three-fifths compromise and a fugitive slave clause. After all, most of founding fathers owned slaves.

 

To sum up what could be a rather long explanation, Abraham Lincoln did not believe in equality amongst the races. He also was not an abolitionist. He simply ended the abhorrent institution to save the Union.

 

I say all of this simply to draw a parallel between Abraham Lincoln and Aphra Behn. I think the tragedy of Oroonoko's story promotes anti-slavery ideals, but in no way, do I think Behn believed in abolition.

 

Reading through Captain and Slaves: Aphra Behn and the Rhetoric of Republicanisms, I solidified this notion in my head. Chernaik argues that readers can find both pro-slavery and anti-slavery plights in this story. I think it would be more accurate to say that you can find anti-slavery plights in this story, but Behn still did not associate the races as equal, much like Abraham Lincoln. 

 

Ultimately, during this age, I believe it was possible to see the cruelty of slavery without thinking that the enslaved deserved the same political rights as their masters. This type of thinking goes on through the history of slavery.  

 

What I found most interesting about this article is that it parallels Oroonoko to Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Harriet Beecher Stowe was a staunch abolitionist, but Uncle Tom’s Cabin has often been criticized as not abolitionist enough. Tom was too soft of a character. He was too forgiving of his lot given in life. His master could beat him and humiliate him, but Tom would never harm his master because he was a good, Christian man. 

Fun fact: After its release, Uncle Tom's Cabin out-sold the Bible.     

There could be many interpretations of Tom’s character. I think ultimately Tom was a warning. I think he was a warning to those slaves that didn’t revolt. Perhaps, he was also a warning to the whites that did not oppose slavery–the loss of a good, Christian man. Stowe was making an example of him. 

Stowe wanted to emphasize the need for abolition.

 

I do not think Behn had the same idea in mind with Oroonoko, but I believe drawing the parallel of these two stories showcases the anti-slavery plight Behn wrote into Oroonoko.

 

It is hard to read such a tragic story like Oroonoko and think, “Wow, this author really loved slavery.” I do not think she did, but Behn was also not a staunch abolitionist like Stowe was. Much like Chernaik suggests, she is somewhere in the middle.

Sources: 

Martin, Michael. “Why African-Americans Loathe 'Uncle Tom'.” NPR, NPR, 30 July 2008, www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93059468. 

Pruitt, Sarah. “What Abraham Lincoln Thought About Slavery.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 21 Sept. 2012, www.history.com/news/5-things-you-may-not-know-about-lincoln-slavery-and-emancipation. 

Warren, Chernaik. "Captains and Slaves: Aphra Behn and the Rhetoric of Republicanism." The Seventeenth Century. 17:1, 97-107, DOI: 10.1080/0268117X.2002.10555502