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The Narrative And Life Of Olaudah Equiano

1852 Words8 Pages

The Atlantic Slave Trade has long been understood as an inhumane exchange of resources and humans, a practice that that perpetuated misery for commercial gain. This narrative is no doubt true, and there are no justifiable arguments to portray it as anything otherwise. However, as we look at this system from the top down, we tend to forget the thoughts and experiences of those directly involved in it. By overlooking the individual perspectives of the many Africans forced into slavery, we are completely missing an integral aspect of the system as a whole.
Part 1: Olaudah Equiano
The voices of those subjected to slavery are many, but among them, one of the most influential was that of Olaudah Equaino. Equiano was an Igbo villager who was enslaved …show more content…

Equiano’s first case of suffering, and the first of his claims of the unjustifiable nature and cruelty of slavery, is the pain of being torn away from one’s family and relationships. Equiano himself was kidnapped at the age of eleven along with his sister, and was extremely distraught and terrified during his abduction and forced transportation to an unfamiliar area (2). His only source of comfort was his sister, with whom he could at least embrace while they both wallowed in their tears (Equiano 2). This, however, did not last, as they were callously separated by their captors, despite their cries against it. As a result, he grieved for days and refused to eat anything, to the point where he had to be forced fed (Equiano 3). This is not a unique story either, as siblings in the slave ship Equiano was later onboard were likewise separated and sold into different lots …show more content…

Although it is difficult to discern where his boundaries lie, he was very clearly disturbed by the nonstop wailing that he heard belowdecks (Romaigne 573). The atrocities that occurred on the vessel were not unique to the Le Rodeur in any way, as can be seen when a Spanish ship hailed them attempting to get aid in the form of workhands, due to most of their crew becoming blinded by the same disease that had affected Romaigne’s crew before (576). The captain and Romaigne himself only laughed, and ignored their pleas. The sheer indifference displayed by the crew in response to the distress of others appears to be a common

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