When was olaudah equiano born
- The interesting narrative of the life of olaudah equiano summary chapter 1
- How did olaudah equiano die
- Why did olaudah equiano write his autobiography
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Olaudah Equiano was born in 1745 in Eboe, in what is now Nigeria. When he was about eleven, Equiano was kidnapped and sold to slave traders headed to the West Indies. Though he spent a brief period in the state of Virginia, much of Equiano's time in slavery was spent serving the captains of slave ships and British navy vessels. One of his masters, Henry Pascal, the captain of a British trading vessel, gave Equiano the name Gustavas Vassa, which he used throughout his life, though he published his autobiography under his African name. In service to Captain Pascal and subsequent merchant masters, Equiano traveled extensively, visiting England, Holland, Scotland, Gibraltar, Nova Scotia, the Caribbean, Pennsylvania, Georgia, and South Carolina. He was purchased in 1763 by Robert King, a Quaker merchant from Philadelphia, for whom he served as a clerk. He also worked on King's trading sloops. Equiano, who was allowed to engage in his own minor trade exchanges, was able to save enough money to purchase his freedom in 1766. He settled in England in 1767, attending school and working as
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The Interesting Narrative of the Life of
Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African.
Written by Himself. Vol. I:
Electronic Edition.
Equiano, Olaudah, b. 1745
Funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities
supported the electronic publication of this title.
Text transcribed by Apex Data Services, Inc.
Images scanned by Elizabeth S. Wright
Text encoded by Apex Data Services, Elizabeth S. Wright and Natalia Smith
First edition, 2001
ca. 280K
Academic Affairs Library, UNC-CH
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill,
2001.
Source Description:
(title page) The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African. Written by Himself. Vol. I.
Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa.
v, [9], 272, [5] p.
London
Author
[1789]
Call number MNN: *ZZ-37389 (microfilm, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, New York Public Library)
The electronic edition is a part of the UNC-CH digitization project, Documenting the American South.
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Olaudah Equiano (1745-1797)
Contributing Editor: Angelo Costanzo
Classroom Issues and Strategies
I use Equiano as an introduction to American slave narrative literature and demonstrate the important influence of autobiographical form and style on the whole range of African-American literature up to the present day, including its impact on such writers as Richard Wright, Ralph Ellison, Alice Walker, and Toni Morrison.
Students are particularly interested in the way the whites conducted the slave trade in Africa by using the Africans themselves to kidnap their enemies and sell them into slavery. Equiano was sold this way. Also their interest is aroused by Equiano's fascinating descriptions of Africa as a self-sufficient culture and society before the incursions of the whites. Students are moved by the graphic scenes of slavery, the Middle Passage experience described by Equiano, and his persistent desire for freedom. Most of all, they enjoy reading the first-person account of a well-educated and resourceful former slave whose life story is filled with remarkable adventures and
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