Olaudah Equiano's Life During The Slave Trade

During the Slave Trade, millions of African American people were taken from their homeland to be sold into slavery. They were only seen as desirable for their work, and were treated as animals. Dragged onto a large ship, these slaves would be forced to endure brutal living conditions both before and after they were bought. During their travels, they were beaten, starved, and insulted with vulgar language. These people were all seen as less than others due to something as trivial as the color of their skin. One person who had experience with this was Olaudah Equiano. He was held in this line of work for many years, but was fortunate enough to eventually buy his own freedom. He suffered through the many voyages and violence, and became one of

After working for a number of masters, he made connections that contributed to him gaining his freedom. While emancipated, he took notice of how slaves on plantations were treated and wanted to change that. He knew firsthand what it was like and did not want others to suffer like he did. With his freedom and education that he received from a previous owner, Equiano fought to put an end to slavery. Instead of focusing on improving only his life, he used the opportunity that he had to help those who may not have been as fortunate as he was. This was no easy feat, as no free slave had the same rights as a white man. A freed man, Houston Hartsfield Holloway, wrote, "For we colored people did not know how to be free and the white people did not know how to have a free colored person about them (Witty). For example, freed blacks were not allowed to learn how to read or write, purchase firearms, or even testify in courts; still, Equiano used his academic advantages to speak out against slavery and the British Slave trade. He was determined to change what was accepted in society and faced many dangers by doing so. Not everyone believed that slavery was wrong and thought that it should remain commonplace. Seeing that this was still wrong, Equiano continued with his efforts to free those enslaved. Soon he published his autobiography, “The Interesting Life of Olaudah Equiano”. This book, one of the first to be published by a black writer, showed the horrors that one faced while being under other’s ownership as a slave. The efforts and contributions that Equiano made to ensure equality led to the passing of the British Slave Act in