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The corruption of noble values are visible in Behn's book. She saw this corruption around her in Surinam and in England. The British king was beheaded in 1648 and at the publishing date of Oronooko the position of king James II was uncertain. Behn shows her disgust about the beheading through the character Oroonoko: "[ ] he had heard of the [ ] deplorable Death of our great Monarch; and wou"d discourse of it with all the Sense, and Abhorrence of the Injustice imaginable" (Behn 13). She also shows the inherent nobility of Oroonoko: "and who-ever had heard him speak [ ] would have confess"d that Oroonoko was capable even of reigning well and of governing wisely [as a white men]" (Behn 14). Behn implies that Oroonoko and the king are both natural nobles, and the world has no notion of the value of nobility and so destroys them. The corruption she saw in Surinam (Lipking 80) had much to do with the local economic growth. The British placed financial gains above noble virtues. This can be seen in the actions of the slave trader, who kidnapped Oroonoko and his friends, broke his promise, and sold them into slavery, all for the sake of money.
In Behn's book Oroonoko is a foil to the corrupt European society. His behavior in contrast with the Europeans shows how she thinks society should be. When Oroonoko is invited to visit the ship of a slave trader for dinner, he does not expect treachery. Behn indirectly condemns the captain's act: "Some have commended this Act, as brave, in the captain; but I will spare my sense of it [ ]" (Behn 31). After this treachery, when Oroonoko gets into the position in which he can demand an improvement in his situation, the captain who lured him into the ship swears to set him and his friends free. Oroonoko's strong sense of honor leads him to believe that it will be done as the captain says. The captain, on the other hand, does not trust Oroonoko's promise to not rebel on the ship because he "[ ] could not resolve to trust a Heathen[ ]" (Behn 32).