Babo

E529013

Babo is a central character in Herman Melville’s novella "Benito Cereno," known as the cunning leader of a slave revolt who manipulates appearances aboard a Spanish slave ship.

All labels observed (1)

Label Occurrences
Babo canonical 4

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (41)

Predicate Object
instanceOf fictional character
literary character
rebel leader
slave
appearsIn Benito Cereno
associatedWithTheme appearance versus reality
power and domination
race
slavery
controls San Dominick
createdBy Herman Melville
deceives Amasa Delano
diesIn Benito Cereno
ethnicityInText Black
firstAppearanceYear 1855
firstPublishedIn Putnam’s Monthly Magazine
influences interpretations of race in Melville studies
language English literature
leads slave revolt
manipulates Benito Cereno
nationalityInText African
notableAction forces Benito Cereno to maintain a false narrative
orchestrates mutiny on Spanish slave ship
stages shipboard scenes to mislead visitors
portrayedAs calculating
intelligent
ruthless
pretendsToBe loyal servant
punishedBy Spanish authorities
linked to: Spanish police
relationshipWith Amasa Delano
Benito Cereno
roleInWork antagonist
central character
symbolizes racial anxiety in 19th-century America
resistance to slavery
timePeriodInText early 19th century
uses deception
threats
violence
workGenre novella
workSetting Spanish slave ship San Dominick

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (4)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.