Slavery In The Lives Of Olaudah Equiano And Mary Prince

Slavery is one of the most horrific things that human beings have ever been involved with. It is the unwilful subduing of another human under the guise of working, performing, or helping their master in a multitude of ways. Slavery was very prominent in the New World, specifically in the regions of Brazil and the Caribbean. Through firsthand accounts, sources, and historiographies, we will analyze the structures, experiences, and lifestyles of enslaved African people in these regions of the New World.

Slavery is typically seen through a lens of oppression, mistreatment, and suffering. All of these things are true about slavery, but they do not tell the full story. Slavery was not exactly the same everywhere it was practiced. We see this

Their first-hand accounts of slavery portray some of the most horrific things I have ever read or imagined. Both had unspeakable things done to them and around them, yet both continued to be faithful and keep their hope in the Christian God to cope with their realities and forge relationships that would work aside their religion to keep this hope alive. Equiano would write an encouragement he received from a fellow slave as said “...then said the poor man, looking up above ‘I must look up to God Mighty in the top for right.’ This artless tale moved me much and I could not help feeling the just cause Moses had in redressing his brother against the Egyptian.” (The Interesting Life of Olaudah Equiano. Page 11). He is saying that although he wanted to repay the evils he had witnessed and endured, he would keep hope that one day God would right every wrong that had been done. This hope also came in forging spiritual and social relationships with men like this one. With men who would encourage him and share their own longing to inspire him to endure all the tragedy. Equiano trusted that God would bring his judgement, which would bring freedom to the slaves and suffering to the slave masters, and he was willing to fight or die for it. Mary Prince had a similar experience when she wrote “I still live in the hope that God will find a way to give me my liberty and give me back my husband. I endeavor to keep down my fretting, and to leave all to Him, for he knows what is good for me better than I know myself.” (The History of Mary Prince. Page 12). She too was relying on God to right the wrongs and bring about her freedom from all the evils of being a slave. Her hope too was also solidified in her growing relationship with God and fellow Christians. “I prayed to God to forgive me. This meeting had a great impression on my mind and led my spirit to the Moravian Church; so that when I got back to