Slavery In The Narrative Of Olaudah Equiano

Although Olaudah Equiano was not directly involved in American slavery, several aspects of The Life of Olaudah Equiano can be used to understand why the institution lasted so long. A major part of the novel was dedicated to counter one of the major propagating ideas of slavery: the widespread myth that Africans were either not fully human or were of a less developed branch of humanity so enslaving them was moral. Equiano spends the first section of the book

"I believe there are few events in my life which have not happened to many; it is true the incidents of it are numerous, and, did I consider myself an European, I might say my sufferings were great; but when I compare my lot with that of most of my countrymen, I regard myself as a particular favorite of heaven, and acknowledge the mercies of Providence in every occurrence of my life." Olaudah Equiano lived the life as a slave like many black people of the 18th century. He was born free but soon was forced into slavery which took him all around the world. From his accounts he has written down, he shows his life as a slave. Equiano had been bought and sold throughout the Americas and Europe; he showed the

Olaudah Equiano and Phillis Wheatley both describe their time in slavery and their experiences of injustice directed at them. Equiano goes into depth in his narrative about the institution of slavery and the experiences he encountered as a slave from being captured to buying his freedom. He characterizes the injustice done to the African people by applying the literary words often used on native people and applying it back to the Europeans. In doing this, he gives a better perspective to his readers about the experience he went through. He writes about how these White people are brutal to not only the Africans, but to each other as well. Though later in his narrative he writes about the white people who are kind to him, which is in contrast

Equiano was able to utilize his life experiences and expose the true story behind a slaves journey (from the capturing to the day the slave is placed with an owner), which allowed him to be an influential opponent against the enslavement of Africans. Equiano stated that, “[t]ourtures, murder, and every other imaginable barbarity and iniquity are practiced

Equiano, one moment was free and the next was being kidnapped and taken into this world where he felt he did not belong. Slavery is something that now is thought about in hate and disgust, but was the “it thing” back in the 1800s. Equiano started his slave life in Africa, however the difference between his experiences throughout Africa and his experiences through the New World are completely different. Equiano was young when he was kidnapped, therefore he started his slave life has a young man who had years of slavery ahead of him.

One of the most interesting arguments that modern apologists makes for the practice of race-based slavery in the Americas is the fact that slavery existed in Africa during that time period and that Africans were complicit in the Trans-Atlantic slave trade. What is fascinating about Olaudah Equiano's discussion of the Middle Passage is that, as a man who had been enslaved in Africa prior to being shipped as a slave to the Americas, he was in a unique position to describe slavery in Africa with his introduction to European-influenced slavery in North America. His perception was that the immense brutality of the Middle Passage foreshadowed the dehumanization of slaves in the Americas, which was more inhumane than the treatment he had received as a slave while in Africa. Furthermore, he did not suggest that this brutality was linked to the race of the traders, though that seemed to have been his initial impression, but to the nature of the Trans-Atlantic trade. Therefore, Equiano's writings suggest that shipping Africans across the ocean for slavery was part of the dehumanizing process that helped fuel the practice of slavery in America.

The life of Olaudah Equiano was a mixture of tragedy, struggle, and achievement. He was forced onto a ship to the Caribbean, after being kidnapped at age seven. He witnessed something that haunted him for the rest of his life, the injustice of slavery. “ The stench of the hold while we were on the coast was so intolerably loathsome, that it was so dangerous to remain there for a long time…” (Equiano 28) In that quote he is explaining the living conditions underneath the ship, and how dangerous it could be for anyone that remained there. He also gives another quote saying, “The closeness of the place, and

Olaudah Equiano was one of the thousands of slaves captured in the 17th century and forced to provide labor while being treated as property. However, Olaudah’s situation is not like most of his fellow slaves. Equiano Embraced European cultures and European religion. He converted to Christianity despite his many hardships that he faced. Someone with as unfortunate of a life as a slave in the 17th century, believed that God was in control and that everything happened for a reason because he has a plan for all of us. This is something that I fail to understand.

Another detail that Equiano incorporated within his writing, is the meaning of his name. As he says in the text “I was named Olaudah, which, in our language, signifies vicissitude or fortune also, one favoured, and having a loud voice and well spoken” (Gates Jr. & Smith 121). Equiano was a man who was the youngest born son to village leaders who owned slaves, became a captive of slavery himself, briefly worked in the fields as a slave before following his master overseas and ultimately buying his own freedom. What’s most profound throughout that, is the fact that he used his voice to help others who are stuck where he was able to break free. PBS has an article where

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

In The Interesting Narrative and Other Writings by Olaudah Equiano, Equiano gave interesting descriptions of his and others experience as a slave. He begins his novel by first explaining the place where he grew up, Nigeria, Africa. This part of Africa during that time was very fruitful and rich. Given this location, it can be understood that Equiano came from a family of wealth and power. He was the youngest and most favored of his siblings. Equiano explained the different African traditions and practices, i.e. honoring the dead, arranged marriages, dance ceremonies. Equiano loved Africa and his family but sadly one horrific day, he and his older sister were stolen from their home and later separated from each other. Not only was he

This source’s importance comes from it being one of the few direct accounts of the Atlantic Slave Trade. Equiano being someone who was captured and sold into slavery provides important insight into what the slave trade was like and the atrocities that were committed. The more known about the slave trade the easier it will be to insure it, or something like it, never happens again. This source does seem to support other sources from the time it was originally produced. The Atlantic Slave Trade is always referred to as an atrocity and nothing in this source contradicts that. This source does tell us something about the period in which it was written, that being that this was a period that was filled with cruelty and hypocrisy. The unimaginable

Olaudah Equiano was a righteous man who was stolen from his home as a child, and made into a slave. Through Equiano’s time as a slave he endured many hardships and made many friends who he would never see again due to death, or the slave trade. Equiano made a memoir to show readers what it was like to be a slave, and to show his hardship through his own eyes without showing himself as someone who is looking for compassion or compensation of any kind. I believe Equiano just had a story to tell to let out all of the misery, and chaos he had held in for many years. This reading response is focused on Equiano’s transition from having a normal life to becoming a slave.

Olaudah Equiano was an African slave born in the year 1745. At the age of eleven, he was savagely taken from his family and sold into the boundaries of slavery. Equiano was shipped to the West Indies but later found himself traveling across the Atlantic. Equiano served the captains of slave ships and British navy vessels. He spent eight years under the leadership of Officer Henry Pascal. During that time frame, he was renamed Gustavus Vassa and sent to school to become educated in reading and writing. He was also persuaded in to being baptized by Protestant Christians. Equiano then worked for King Robert as a clerk. He was allowed to engage in minor trade and soon made enough to purchase his freedom in 1766. Shortly after his liberation, Equiano published a slave narrative in 1789 to try and undo the process of European colonization. Despite minor flaws in this slave narrative, Olaudah Equiano helped contribute to the end of British participation in the slave trade.

Olaudah Equiano was a slave who did not the traditional mold of a normal slave. Equiano was a highly intelligent individual. Equiano’s compelling life story began when he was born in 1745 in Ebobe, which is now modern day Nigeria. He was not born into slavery rather sold into it. When he was eleven years old, Equiano was kidnapped and sold to slave trader headed westward. At the time of being kidnapped, Olaudah eventually became separated from his sister when they were purchased from the slave traders. Even though Olaudah Equiano was technically a slave, his role was slightly different.