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The Life And Work Of Olaudah Equiano

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Olaudah Equiano was one of Britain’s earliest known African authors. He was a prominent historical figure who through writing about his experiences as a slave prompted him to become involved in the British abolition movement. His descriptive writings had a momentous effect on the perception of the slave trade and slavery, from that of an African slave. Recently, there have been many questions about his biographical record on whether he was born in Africa or in America. Yet, Equiano’s birthplace should not have any substantial impact on the credibility, viability or dependability as a source on the slave trade and slavery, merely because whether these events happened to him personally or not, it did happen to millions of other African slaves. …show more content…

At the young and tender age of 11, he was kidnapped by local slave traders and was then sold into slavery. In his biography, he talks about being brought from Africa aboard a ship, transported across the middle passage, and being further sold to slave owners. In the narrative, Equiano describes the horrendous conditions about the slave ship endured by both women and children and even white men. He continues about the physical abuse endured by Africans in slavery and the many atrocities he witnessed as a slave. As Equiano’s work continues to be read and studied by many today, it is often debated whether the details written in his biography are true to his own experience as a slave, greatly overlooking the actual important meaning of his

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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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Both Mary and Equiano suffered greatly upon their being taken. They both endured mental, physical, and emotional distress at being torn from their families and friends. Equiano was only a child when he was taken from his village, away from everything and everyone he had ever known, so the natural fear of parental separation would be terrifying in itself. Many years later, as he was being shipped overseas, he witnessed the cruel and inhumane treatment of innocent people. In describing the living conditions of the slave ship, Equiano states, “The shrieks of the women, and the groans of the dying, rendered the whole a scene of horror almost inconceivable” (Equiano 1279).

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The autobiography of Olaudah Equiano, also known as Gustavus Vass, was first published in 1789. However, his exert from the narrative, “An African captive describes the middle passage” puts slave trade into perspective. This writing accounts for the horrible mistreatment of Equiano and other slaves along with him during his journey across the middle passage. “I now saw myself deprived of all chance of returning to my native country” [Document Collection 23]. Olaudah Equiano was kidnapped from his homeland in Nigeria and sold to slave traders heading west.

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In Equiano's personal slave narrative, "The Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African", Equiano flips the idea that the African people are backwards and barbaric, thus ripe for slavery, by demonstrating his personal exceptionalism through his literacy to show that it is truly the white people who are backwards and barbaric through their own hypocrisy. This reversal that Equiano demonstrates in his slave narrative shows that the savagery of African people exists as a misconception and makes the reader fully grasp the need to abolish slavery and any inequality present. On page seventy-eight, Equiano uses first person pronouns like 'I', 'my', and 'me' to separate himself from the other African people and whites around him. This separation that Equiano creates demonstrates his exceptionalism as an African slave.

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Creating African Americans Chapter 1 Summary

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In his book, The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, African author Olaudah Equiano wrote about his life and experiences after being sold into the slave trade. Equiano used his writing to expose the horrors of slavery and the agony he and other slaves faced. He wrote with the hope that by exposing the horrors that slaves endure, people would realize how wicked slavery was and put an end to it. Equiano spoke about his encounters with white men in the Middle Passage and how he was terrified of them in chapter two of his book. As they examined him when he initially boarded the ship, he described how he was terrified: "I was immediately handled and tossed up to see if I were sound by some of the crew; and I was now persuaded that I had gotten into a world of bad spirits, and that they were going to kill me."

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Olaudah Equiano was one of the most famous black men in the history of slavery who was lucky enough to purchase his freedom by himself. Equiano was highly popular for his autobiography named The interesting narrative of the life of Olaudah Equiano or Gustavus Vassa, the African. This is an interesting autobiographywhich was published in 1789 and it emphasized various aspects of slavery throughout the entire book. In The Interesting Narrative, Olaudah Equiano uses poetic diction and tone ( sadistic) to illustrate his perspective as a slave by portraying the cruality and brutality of slavery. Equiano was very disappointed with his master’s betrayal.

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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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