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Summary Of Olaudah Equiano

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The infamous Atlantic Slave Trade was one of the most horrific ventures mankind ever condoned. Although this business endeavor did in fact produce many positive outcomes, its accomplishments are overshadowed by the unimaginable cruelty and indifference the slavers displayed towards their prisoners. When the atrocity of this world-wide trade had ended, around two of the twelve million Africans who were brutally kidnapped from their homes, had died during the voyages. Olaudah Equiano was one of the survivors. Growing up in a western African tribe, he lived with his sister and father, who was the chief. Prospects were high in Equiano's regard, as he would have inherited his father's chiefly position. But that likelihood was dismissed when he and …show more content…

Equiano explained that the crew above him had just caught a significant number of fish and that they had eaten and eaten until they were fully content; after, however, instead of giving the remains to the slaves, they disposed of it overboard. The following quote recounts the subsequent reactions of the prisoners, "some of my countrymen, being pressed for hunger, took an opportunity, when they thought no one saw them, of trying to get a little privately". These companions of his were starving, both literally, and with indignation--so they took matters into their own hands. Stealing fish in reprisal to their hunger and mistreatment was a form of rebellion. Although, interestingly enough, when Equiano wrote about the spectacle, he didn’t mention himself taking any part in it. Using the words like "my countrymen" and "they", Olaudah excluded himself entirely from any sort of outward dissent towards his captors--however, that does not mean he didn’t acquire an intense resentment too. It is quite possible to infer that his subtle yet uncompromising persistence to survive, overrode his desire for retribution. Olaudah Equiano must have known that the actions his companions were recklessly executing were …show more content…

The following scene occurred when one of the crew members took notice of Equiano's pensive gazes towards the quadrant. "And one of them, willing to increase it, as well as to gratify my curiosity, made me one day look through it." Whether or not this crew member indulged Olaudah's interest because of good will, or because of selfish satisfactions is irrelevant; but you might wonder what this quote has to do with compliance--I assure you, it is rather reasonable. What happened to the slaves who tried to steal fish? What happened to the slaves who jumped over-board? Those understandably rebellious individuals were punished severely, and were most probably treated a lot worse than the other...more compliant captives. So whilst this may sound slightly implausible, I believe it is actually quite well-grounded. If Equiano was recalcitrant, then there is little chance that he would, firstly, be up on deck, and secondly and more importantly, be able to satiate his desires such as using the quadrant. His captors simply would not have allowed him to; unruly prisoners would have been forced to remain below deck. But Olaudah demonstrated the beneficial character trait of compliance, and because of his obedience, the crew trusted

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As the boom from the transatlantic slave trade was being put into a question of universal humanity and morality, millions of Africans were still being sold into a life of victimhood. Amongst those millions were freemen being stripped from their homes, because of their race, in the core and coastal regions of Africa. The Neirsee Incident occurred on, “January 21st, 1828” at a “British owned palm oil house near old Calabar” (Blaufarb and Clarke 71). The Neirsee as it was stopped at the port near the British owned palm oil house, was interrupted by a character name Feraud who “slipped out of old Calabar on the Neirsee”, where the ship was eventually seized after it had, “just loaded its human cargo” (Blaufarb and Clarke 72). The incident had led to innocent British citizens lives being sold into the slave trade.

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Some slaves jumped overboard then suffering. Others staged violent shipboard

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In the documents “Considering the Evidence: Voices from the Slave Trade” it shows how the Atlantic slave trade was an enormous enterprise and enormously significant in modern world history. In document 15.1 - The Journey to Slavery it talks about the voice of an individual victim of the slave trade known as Olaudah Equiano. Equiano was taken from his home and sold into the slave trade. He worked for three different families while in the slave trade but what is different about him is that he learned to read and write while being a slave. He traveled extensively as a seaman aboard one of his masters' ships, and was allowed to buy his freedom in 1766.

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According to PBS Africans in America, after Equinao bought his freedom he became an active abolitionist in England. Olaudah Equiano’s descriptions of the middle passage severed a purpose for

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Thus, we can see how each story of the captives help reveal the different feelings one might have while being held and dehumanized like Equiano and Rowlandson were. This is important because both rowlandson and Equiano were subject to torture, humiliation, and slavery. So, how would you react if you had someone you loved being subject to all these horrible, abusive

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Mary Rowlandson and Olaudah Equiano: Comparing Captivity Experiences Americans have been intrigued by captivity novels and works for centuries. It could be the sense of danger and unpredictability that makes them so interesting and popular. Or maybe the idea that captivity was quite possible for readers in previous centuries made captivity narratives popular in Colonial Times. Speaking of Colonial Times, two popular captivity narratives that took place in that era that have many similarities and differences are; A Narrative of the Captivity of Mary Rowlandson and The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano.

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While Equiano's narrative shows the terrible conditions that he and his fellow Africans had to endure on the ship, Columbus’s journal has a very different cover. As opposed to Equiano's picture, Columbus’s journal shows he and his crew landing on an island in the Caribbean claiming land for spain triumphantly. This obviously shows two very different objectives in the stories. Emotion can be effected with the words we use as well, in Equiano's narrative there is an

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17.1 Captivity and Enslavement, Olaudah Equiano, the interesting Narrative of the life of Olaudah Equiano written by himself 1. What are Equiano’s impressions of the white men on the ship and their treatment of the slaves? How does this treatment reflect the slave traders’ primary concerns? Equiano’s first impression of these white men is a feeling of uncertainty and sorrow for the future. As his story goes on Equiano is afraid of these white men, but also he is wishing to end it all because of the conditions and treatment of the slaves.

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For example, when he told of his arrival in Virginia when he was the last of his group left at a plantation with no one to talk to and no way to understand those around him. To the British readers, who thrived in their own daily social interactions, the thought of such a lonely situation created feelings of pity and understanding. Equiano thought that he was “worse off than any of the rest” of his companions and “was constantly grieving and pining,” because of his loneliness. The British readers related to his emotional distress and allowed themselves to see him as a person. Therefore, they were more open to his ideas on slavery as a whole, because they could relate to Equiano's

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Equiano organized group of people called the “Sons of Africa,” they campaigned through public speaking, letter writing in a large open area of lawmakers to abolish slavery. He also led a group of delegate in support of improving the condition of slave ships, to limit the number of enslave Africans that ships could carry. Equiano knew his life story was one of the most important arguments against slavery. So he uses his own life story to persuade the British to abolish slavery by writing his own life story. “The interesting narrative of the life of Olaudah Equiano”.

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The captains were to be emotionally removed from what they were doing mainly because they were involved in “a filthy business in almost every conceivable sense” (171). They were expected to be able to run a tight ship in every sense. They had to be able to control the massive amounts of humans that were aboard their ships, they needed to be unquestioned by the crew in their authority and thus, they were cold, hardened men (171-172). The captains were frequently noted to have treated their crew similarly to the way the crew treated the slaves (171). The captains may have shown the crew some kindness that was not shown to the slaves

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181 Words | 1 Pages

Olaudah Equiano was one of many individuals who were taken from Africa and sold into slavery. However, he was unique in that he was eventually able to buy his own freedom, while most enslaved Africans were forced to live their entire lives in bondage. Equiano's story began when he was kidnapped while playing outside with his sister on a day when all the adults in his village were working. The kidnappers brought him and his sister far away from home and sold them into slavery, putting them to work for a family. Equiano planned to escape but was sold again before he could do so, and was subsequently moved to various countries along the coast.

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“The people of the great vessel were wicked: when we had been shipped, they took away all the small pieces of cloth which were on our bodies, and threw them into the water, then they took chains and tethered two together. Every morning they had to take the man, and throw them into the water,” (First Hand Accounts Case Study). This quote suggests that the crew expressed little sympathy to slaves. This is demonstrated in the novel by Paula Fox The Slave Dancer.

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The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano is a very interesting autobiography of a man of African descent, who paints a picture for the readers as he takes us back through his journey of being born into a life with freedom, being captured and sold away into slavery, and later on buying his own freedom back. In the story, Mr. Equiano goes into great detail when describing his life as a slave, from his journey across Africa to his many voyages around the world. He narrates from a very dramatic perspective, which gives the reader a good vison of what is going on. Later on in life, Equiano decides to become a spokesman for the freedom of African slaves and writes his autobiography to have his voice heard. After publishing his book,

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Both stories begin with shocking horrors, although much of Equiano’s narrative was based on these horrific scenes. Equiano’s survival of his involuntary journey to America, being enslaved as a child, and witnessing torture in Virginia, should be of aid towards the disapproval of the brutality of slavery. After buying his own freedom, Equiano became a front-runner in the abolitionist movement representing those who stood against slavery. Now in the 21st century we still fight for the freedom and self-respect we find in Equiano’s narrative. Rowlandson’s and Equiano’s narratives each represent a different characteristic of what it means to be part of the American nation.

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