What Is Olaudah Equiano?
Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, was a freed African slave, merchant, seamen, and Caribbean explorer who lived in London and advocated for the end of the slave trade. He published an autobiography titled “The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African” in 1789 that greatly influenced the passage of the 1807 Slave Trade Act. This ended the African slave trade in Britain and British colonies.
===Summary of Olaudah Equiano and His Young Life===
Olaudah Equiano provided a summary of his childhood in his controversial autobiography. He was born in 1745 in the Benin Kingdom, next to the Niger River. His father served the Ibo people as a village leader and his family raised him to become a chief. The Ibo people worked with slavers and Equiano’s family owned slaves. PBS. (2000, August 1). Olaudah Equiano 1745 - …show more content…
One of the earliest writings published by an African writer widely known in England, the book influenced the creation of the slave narrative literary genre. His accounts differed from many other slaves’ experiences since he did not work in fields and learned to read, write, and sail.Lovejoy, 2006 Equiano recounts his capture, the journey on the slave ship, and the harsh realities of slave life in Georgia, Virginia, and the West Indies. He detailed his Christian beliefs and the times where he questioned his faith, but pulled through.Equiano, 2014 This changed many people’s perspectives on Africans who now seemed to be just a complete and complex as Europeans. It also led to the passing of the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act in
===Summary of Olaudah Equiano and His Young Life===
Olaudah Equiano provided a summary of his childhood in his controversial autobiography. He was born in 1745 in the Benin Kingdom, next to the Niger River. His father served the Ibo people as a village leader and his family raised him to become a chief. The Ibo people worked with slavers and Equiano’s family owned slaves. PBS. (2000, August 1). Olaudah Equiano 1745 - …show more content…
One of the earliest writings published by an African writer widely known in England, the book influenced the creation of the slave narrative literary genre. His accounts differed from many other slaves’ experiences since he did not work in fields and learned to read, write, and sail.Lovejoy, 2006 Equiano recounts his capture, the journey on the slave ship, and the harsh realities of slave life in Georgia, Virginia, and the West Indies. He detailed his Christian beliefs and the times where he questioned his faith, but pulled through.Equiano, 2014 This changed many people’s perspectives on Africans who now seemed to be just a complete and complex as Europeans. It also led to the passing of the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act in