OroonokoThe editor supplies explanatory annotations and textual notes. Historical Backgrounds is an especially rich collection of seventeenth and eighteenth century documents about colonisers and slaves in the new world. Topically arranged"Montaigne on America," "The Settling of Surinam," "Observers of Slavery, 16541712," "After Oroonoko: Noble Africans in Europe," and "Opinions on Slavery"these selections create a revealing context for Behn's unusual story.