Chatwin's second work retains a preoccupation with both exotic locales and restless spirits. The Viceroy of Ouidah is, however, a novel - of sorts - and it concerns a poor Brazilian wanderer, Francisco Manoel Da Silva, who, as the victim of an elaborate set-up, sails to Dahomey in West Africa (now Benin) to re-ignite the moribund slave trade in that area. The novel, narrated in flashback by an omniscient narrator, presents a tragic story of frustration, greed and violence as Da Silva's fortunes, initially bolstered by his ruthlessness, eventually subside as a result of his lassitude and frustration. Pinned in place by the impossibility of return to Brazil on the one hand, and the hostile sovereign of inland Dahomey on the other, Da Silva grows gradually more resentful and frustrated.
The novel, which, like all of Chatwin's works, takes as its central theme the innate restlessness of humankind, remains the least read of the writer's works; it was perhaps too overwhelming for the general audience. It was later adapted into a film by Chatwin's friend and fellow traveller, Werner Herzog, with Klaus Kinski playing the role of Da Silva. The adaptation was called Cobra Verde.
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