Olaudah Equiano's Life and Legacy

Study Notes

Olaudah Equiano was a former slave who became a respected English gentleman.
He wrote his autobiography, The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, in 1789, during a time of great social and political change in England.
Equiano's book challenged readers' beliefs about wealth, culture, morality, and Christianity.
He exposed the hypocrisy of a society built on slavery.
The British played a major role in the Atlantic slave trade, transporting more Africans than any other nation.
Equiano's autobiography forced the British public to confront their role in the suffering of millions of Africans.
It became a bestseller, making Equiano wealthy and famous.
He was a skilled businessman and self-promoter, using his book to build a successful career.
He was one of the first authors to go on a book tour.
Equiano's story emphasizes the power of education and self-improvement.

Equiano was born in 1745 in Africa.
He was captured by African slavers at the age of eleven and sold to European traders.
He spent his childhood in a loving spiritual community, which was abruptly disrupted by his enslavement.
He experienced the horrors of the Middle Passage, the journey from Africa to the Americas.
His writing vividly describes his experience in the cramped and filthy hold of a slave ship, highlighting the unimaginable suffering of enslaved Africans.
Upon arriving in the West Indies, he was sold in a slave market in Virginia.
He was stripped of his identity and renamed Gustavus Vassa.

In 1757, Equiano was purchased by a Royal Navy officer named Michael Henry Pascal.
He sailed to England with Pascal, escaping the horrors of the Middle Passage and the slave market.
This voyage was a journey of discovery for Equiano, offering him a chance to experience a new world.
However, he still carried the psychological wounds of being separated from his family.
Serving as a servant to a naval officer was an improvement from working on a slave plantation.
Equiano embraced English culture, learning to speak and read English.
He was drawn to London's energy and diversity.
He was welcomed into the home of Pascal's cousin, Mrs. Goering, who taught him to read and write.
He recognized that education was the key to success in England.

In 1758, England went to war with France and Equiano served in the Royal Navy under Captain Pascal.
He excelled in the navy, even being promoted to Able Seaman.
At the end of the war in 1762, he believed he would be granted his freedom, but Pascal betrayed him and sold him to another master, Captain Doran.
He was devastated by this betrayal, having served Pascal loyally.

At the age of 18, Equiano was determined to change his fate.
He was sold back to the West Indies, but he met a Quaker merchant named Robert King, who offered him a chance at freedom.
King was a slave owner, but he was also a Quaker, a group that believed in the equality of all people.
King offered Equiano his freedom if he could repay the 40 pounds he had paid for him.
Equiano saw this as an opportunity and began working for King.
He traveled between the Indies and America and started his own business, using his skills and determination to earn money and buy his freedom.

The 18th century was a time of great economic change with the rise of capitalism and speculation.
Equiano embraced this new world, using his entrepreneurial spirit to build a successful life for himself.