This course covers works published in the years between 1660 to 1815, directly under the banner of British literature. Assuming you were born on a different planet, this extended 18^th century period is a big deal because it changed what would be the modern world forever.

During this time many major world events occurred. This is the period of modern history where things get a little funky. The strongest of the white nations collectively figured that the fight to be the most “powerful” of them all constitutes of the division and distribution of all the colored, conquered main lands.

A couple novels, and stories will be highlighted that help the reader gain a little more insight into the time period. Appropriately titled Restoration through Revolution. Starting at the beginning of the era, Aphra Behn’s Oronooko was published in 1688. This short prose, written by a white, British woman, utters the fictional story of an African prince who is tricked and sold into slavery by British Colonists in Surinam. Oddly enough, the story is written as a first person account. The importance of this story not only lies within its words but also within the fact that the author had done something new of the time. Not only writing in the voice of the subaltern but also being one of the first white female British authors.

There was the published autobiography of The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano in 1789. Unlike the previous novel, this one was an account of one’s time in the slave trade as a slave. This novel shares an almost emotional sympathy towards the colonizer figure. Like Oronooko the narrative shows the slaves with relationships that lends towards more than just other enslaved or Negro occupants. They show a connection to the whites or captors with adoption of their ideologies in many different ways.

These are the few the few “black” voices covered during this time period. Many and most texts are centered on the situations of the subaltern but not necessarily ever voiced from the happenings of the colonized themselves. There are many pieces of literature from this time period. The diversity lies mainly in the language, French, English, and Spaniard Spanish. It wont show much a difference in color of the writer but there will be cultural difference.

Behn, Aphra. Canning, 1688.

Equiano, Olaudah, and Vincent Carretta. Point Par Point, 2008.