Olaudah Equiano

Equiano then travels to America and the West Indies with King Robert. The King allows his friend, Captain Thomas Farmer, to take Equiano as sailor on several of his voyages. On his voyage both King and Farmer accused Equiano of making plan to escape. With time King starts to see trustworthiness and loyalty in Equiano, and promises Equiano money towards his freedom. Equiano makes money by trading goods between ports on the sea. King

The slave trade, yet horrific in it’s inhumanity, became an important aspect of the world’s economy during the eighteenth century. During a time when thousands of Africans were being traded for currency, Olaudah Equiano became one of countless children kidnapped and sold on the black market as a slave. Slavery existed centuries before the birth of Equiano (1745), but strengthened drastically due to an increasing demand for labor in the developing western hemisphere, especially in the Caribbean and Carolinas. Through illogical justification, slave trading became a powerful facet of commerce, regardless of its deliberate mistreatment of human beings by other human beings. Olaudah Equiano was able to overcome this intense

Of course, there were probably multiple times where he would rather be dead then to live like this, its amazing how he held his head high through all this! All the pain! All the suffering! You can tell he was a very brave and courageous man all together. Olaudah Equiano and only Olaudah Equiano will ever understand what he has been through! When he was free he worked to prove and show that he was a person of his own! He wrote an Autobiography explaining everything he could possibly feel comfortable sharing! In the year 1792 he married a woman by the name of Susanna Cullen, and had two children! On march 31 1797 Equiano died! In 1807 The United States and Britain abolished the slave trade! If only he were here to see this

Majority of Olaudah Equiano’s experiences he has written about in his autobiography, “The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano or, Gustavus Vassa, the African” were the typical experiences that many slaves have also experienced. Olaudah Equiano, as a child was kidnapped from his family, along with his sister and was then separated from her. He was then taken to Virginia where he was sold and worked on a plantation. This depicts the life of a typical slave. On the other-hand some of his life experiences as a slave did not portray the usual experiences that most slaves encountered. He spent a lot of his life on slave ships and British navy vessels. He was purchased by a Quaker merchant, Robert King, in 1763. King allowed Equiano

The novel The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano exists as an extremely important work in the abolitionist movement in England. As an 18th century narrative written by a former black slave the novel provides a glimpse into the lives of the African slaves involved in the slave trade as well as the slave traders themselves. Even with the controversy over the authenticity of Equiano’s claims on his origin in Africa and his subsequent voyage through the Middle Passage, this novel serves as a powerfully instructive piece of literature. Throughout the novel Equiano strives to impress upon the reader a certain set of moral standards or ideals that he desires to instruct the reader about. One such moral ideal that is prevalent

After he was set free Equiano was finally able to develop himself as a person and gain an identity in general. He was able to make his own choices on employment, and other decisions on where he went. He began to prove himself at sea and

Olaudah Equiano, also known by the name of Gustavus Vassa which was given to him by his master on a slave ship, was born in the Eboe province of Africa in 1775-1776. Eboe was a part of the kingdom of Benin which is now present-day Nigeria. Equiano, like many others, lived in a village and was kidnapped and sold into slavery. From the chains of enslavement to the freedom in London, he believed that he and his countrymen deserved freedom and equality. Religion would have a huge impact on Equiano’s life as he converted to Christianity after having many near-death experiences on his voyages around the world. He also used religion to argue his case against slavery as he became involved in the abolitionist movement in London in the late 18th century. Later in life, Equiano would begin writing his autobiography “The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African, Written by Himself” and was published in 1789. The book would relive Equiano’s life in Eboe, he and his sister’s capture and enslavement, the Middle Passage and the horrors of slavery, his travels, and work as an abolitionist.

One would say that his obvious lack of enthusiasm is perhaps a literary device to make the point that his fate was already made. Through many years, he worked and made enough money to buy his freedom. He married and had two daughters. In 1797, he died in London.

Equiano was born on the year of 1745 in a “charming fruitful vale” (Olaudah, Chap. 1, Par. 2), called Essaka. His father was a Chief and he was expected to follow in his father's footsteps. Slavery was part of Equiano’s culture, as his family owned slaves as well. “Those prisoners which were not sold or redeemed we kept as slaves: but how different was their condition from that of the slaves in the West Indies! With us they do no more work than other members of the community, even their masters; their food, clothing and lodging were nearly the same as theirs, (except that they were not permitted to eat with those who were free-born); and there was scarce any other difference between them, than a superior degree of importance which the head of a family possesses in our state, and that authority which, as such, he exercises over every part of his household. Some of these slaves have even slaves under them as their own property, and for their own use” (Olaudah, Chap. 1, Par.9).

Looking at the narrative of Equiano and the many details it portrays, we have learned a lot about the Atlantic slave trade and its effect on Africa, its people and the world. According to the narrative, slaves were not only taken against their will, but were separated from their families, loved ones and friends. They were mistreated, beaten, burned, torture, and punish for trying to escape or being disobedient by their masters. In some cases, the torture and punishments were so severe, that they would try taking

Scholars who study The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano; or Gustavus Vassa, the African have long held the debate of which name they should refer to him. As Equiano invokes two names for himself throughout his life in his writings. In the majority of his publications, he refers to himself as Gustavus Vassa, the African or the Ethiopian. However, there were a few pieces in which he referred to himself as Olaudah Equiano, such as his autobiography, and Paul E. Lovejoy attempts to determine which name scholars should use to identify him, why they should use it, and why it matters. He discusses the several other names that were used to refer to Equiano throughout his life as a slave, as his name changed as often as his masters

Equiano’s depictions of the harshness of slavery are very vivid and realistic, and the following ghastly scene from his time on the slave trade ship corroborates these ideas: “This wretched situation was again aggravated by the galling of the chains, now become insupportable, and the filth of the necessary tubs, into which the children often fell, and were almost suffocated. The shrieks of the women, and the groans of the dying, rendered the whole scene a horror almost inconceivable” (Equiano 161). Equiano wrote that he was pleased with his life before his was introduced to slavery. The merciless and inhumane ways the Europeans treated slaves consternated him ("Olaudah Equiano Publishes His Memoirs: 1789"). Equiano puts emphasis on the cruelty of slavery and everything it entitles: “Equiano’s description of his African childhood, his abduction, and his voyage in the Middle Passage is a rare and celebrated firsthand narrative of the life in an African village prior to European colonization, as well as an eyewitness account of the horrors of the slave trade” (Equiano, Olaudah). Equiano contributes to the emotional effectiveness of the narrative through becoming a slave and how he was treated. Equiano never explained the coincidence that

One day while Olaudah Equiano and his sister were maintaining their house, they got kidnapped and then sold to slavery. He went through numerous places in a six or seven month period before finally arriving at the sea coast. There he began to lose hope. The smell and thought of never going home made him extremely ill. He refused to eat and wished to die. Then, two white men forced him to eat by tieing him up. Finally, they reached the island of Barbados. White people got slaves to help the sick men and then shortly after brought to land to be put to work.

In a manner of speaking, each of these removals were a repetition of his initial kidnapping. He experienced the same type of loss time and time again. As time went on and he moved further from what was familiar to him, he latched on an increasing amount to those who were kind to him or showed him respect. This demonstrates his desire to find a home to replace the one stole from him. Perhaps an even greater loss to him was the changing of his name, first to Michael, and then to Jacob. This signified a complete loss of identity. Not only was his home and family stripped from him, but also the very essence of who he was. This only compounded when his name was changed for the third time on the way to England to Gustavus Vassa. Equiano had once again been stripped from what he was comfortable with.

He lost everything including his titles and his standing within the Ibo tribe. He had to live with his mother?s tribe, and eventually seven years later he went back to the Ibo tribe to start his life all over again, only to in find out that things had changed. The arrivals of missionaries in Africa started a new way of living. The people who the Africans believed were outcast were accepted by the missionaries. They felt that no one should be turned away. The Africans thought that the outcasts would bring the missionaries nothing but bad luck.