...The Autobiography of Olaudah Equiano is a woeful recount of an African boy who was kidnapped into slavery. However, with the story of Olaudah Equiano comes a question. Was Equiano an African who merely wanted to share his life’s story or was he born in South Carolina and wrote this as a calculated attempt to “increase the odium against the West India planters?” as Vincent Carretta states. If the first presumption is correct, then all is well and the story can be revered as a highly respected expositional work of history. Although, if the second is correct, then this calls into question Equiano’s right to play the victim in representing the slaves who suffered through the Middle Passage. The answer to this highly debated question lies in the accuracy of his details, the historical validity of his stories, and the fact that pro-slavery writers are the source of the original doubt. In his autobiography, Olaudah Equiano describes his experience of the Middle Passage with many details. For example, one of the most notable details he notes of the slave ship was the horrible stench that reeked from the lower deck. Equiano writes, “I was soon put down under the decks, and there I received such a...
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...movement a buzzing moral influence; except it may not be exact. Therein lays the mystery: Because if the gentleman who penned "The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavas Vassa, the African" was not born in Africa, but rather born into slavery in South Carolina -- as Vincent Carretta suggests -- then who was he? Where did he learn to speak fluent Igbo? And how did he obtain such agonizing details about life aboard an 18th-century slave vessel? The air soon became unfit for respiration, from a variety of loathsome smells, and brought on a sickness among the slaves, of which many died, thus falling victims to the improvident avarice, as I may call it, of their purchasers. This wretched situation was again aggravated by the galling of the chains. . . . The shrieks of the women, and the groans of the dying, rendered the whole a scene of horror almost inconceivable. (Equiano, 1789) In that lies the controversy: Carretta's findings, detailed in his biography of Equiano, have ignited a blaze in academic life, for the most part among those who have extensively considered Equiano the "black Ben Franklin" all on the weight of his auto biography. Given that Equiano's was in print first, Carretta argues that Franklin should be called the "White Equiano." No one questions that Equiano was the ultimate self-made man, cultured, and intellectual. A slave, who bought his own way to...
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...Olaudah Equiano is ex-African slave who wrote his own autobiography “The Interesting Narrative of The Life of Olaudah Equiano” in his autobiography, he says that he was born in the country of what is now Nigeria. Equiano was kidnapped and sold into slavery when he was just a child. During this time, he went through what was known as the middle passage on a slave ship bound for the New World. Equiano was then shipped to Virginia to work weeding grass and gathering stones after a short time working in Barbados. Equiano was eventually bought by a naval captain for about £40 named Gustavas Vassa. Equiano was 12 when the captain brought him to England, and While he was there he stayed at Blackheath located in London with the Guerin family who was relatives to the naval captain. While he was there...
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...of an event or by leading a revolution.” In my essay the person who will be the topic is “Olaudah Equiano”. I am to choose an individual and discuss their impact on world history. Olaudah Equiano, who was born 1745 in West Africa, contributed to a ton of accomplishments. He was an abolitionist and former slave who was the author of “The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano”; Written by Himself. Equiano’s Narrative told the story of his capture and life in bondage. At 11 years old, while caring for the family compound, he was kidnaped along with his sister. The two were taken away from the place where they grew up, and sold to the neighborhood slave traders. Following a concise time of remains in Africa, in 1755 Equiano was captured and sold to the European slave brokers, who then transported him over the Atlantic to Barbados in the West Independents in 1756. In Virginia, Equiano was bought by Michael Pascal, a lieutenant in the Royal Navy. Pascal gave Equiano the name of Gustavus Vassa, which stayed with him for the better part of his lifetime. Domestic slaves in...
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...Feb.02, 2001 Olaudah Equiano In 1745, Olaudah Equiano was born in a small village in Isseke,Nigeria. His father was one of the chiefs in the village. At age eleven Equiano and his sister were kidnapped by two men and a woman never to see his home or parents again. After being kidnapped he was hiked across part of Africa untill he arrived at the coast where he was loaded onto a slave ship. While crossing the Atlantic to Barbados onboard the slave ship he and his countrymen were subject to horrors you could hardly imagine. Equiano tells about the horrors and torture slaves face not only on the slave ship but also on plantations and many other aspects of a slave's life. Equiano experienced almost all parts of a slave's existence. He was a slave throughout Africa, England, and the New World. Equiano is bought and sold several times. Religion also played a huge role in Equiano's life and I think that it helped him get through some really hard times. He is bought by a British Naval officer and serves in the British Navy during the Seven Years' War. He is then sold to Robert King where he begins trading goods between islands and eventually makes enough money to buy his freedom. Equiano tells of the joy he feels when he becomes a free man. The rest of his life is devoted to helping slaves and to the cause of abolishing slavery. In 1756 Olaudah Equino was kidnapped and taken to a slave ship which is when his nightmare and battle with slavery began. Equiano and his countrymen were chained...
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...Olaudah Equiano, was a former enslaved African, seaman and merchant who wrote an autobiography depicting the horrors of slavery and lobbied Parliament for its abolition. In his biography, he records he was born in what is now Nigeria, kidnapped and sold into slavery as a child. He then endured the middle passage on a slave ship bound for the New World. After a short period of time in Barbados, Equiano was shipped to Virginia and put to work weeding grass and gathering stones. In 1757, he was bought by a naval captain (Captain Pascal) for about £40, who named him Gustavas Vassa. Equiano was about 12 when he first arrived in England. For part of that time he stayed at Blackheath in London with the Guerin family (relatives of Pascal). It...
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...The Middle Passage was a dark stage of history in which Africans were sent on vessels to America as part of the slave trade. Two particular slaves used these dreadful times to their advantage. Putting their experiences into writing, Phillis Wheatley and Olaudah Equiano wrote tremendously successful literary pieces that shaped the abolition movement. In both Equiano’s narrative and Wheatley’s book of poems, they reflect the similar experience of slavery, which greatly shapes the purpose and style of the author’s pieces. Much like Equiano, Phillis Wheatley was born in an African village. The only good memory recalled of her life in Africa was of her mother performing daily rituals to the rising sun in the mornings. She had the advantage of being purchased by Christian missionaries who were very kind to her. Her owners taught her to read and write, which led her to be the first African American woman to be published as a poet. It also caused her writing to be much more classical with a discreet sense of emotion. She used many allusions and...
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...Olaudah Equiano was taken by force at the age of eleven from his West African village of Benin. He was then put on a ship to travel through the rough “Middle Passage” of the Atlantic Ocean to become a slave in the West Indies. In the West Indies (Barbados) he was put up for sale to work in the sugar plantations. Then in 1766, he was sold to a Virginian farmer to be a slave there. He was a slave in North America for ten years, and then he was allowed to buy his freedom. He left North American and went to Great Britain. In Great Britain he worked as a barber and became an abolish nest. He spoke out against slavery and in 1789 wrote a book about his life called “The Interesting Narrative of the life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African”,...
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...arguments in favor of religious liberty? William Penn argument was to hold the spirit of God to make a live within all people, not just elect. It was also about the Bible, and the teachings of the clergy to offer the guidance in spiritual matters. Thus, the government could not enforce in religious worship in the colony. Penn principled the religious toleration, although office holding to Christians was limited. 2) Why does the document refer to “the right of the free born subjects of England? “Free born subjects of England” was the right where promises would be enjoyed by the colonists. For the well governing of the colonial territories and provinces, there was an Assembly yearly chosen by the freemen. The Assembly should have a power to choose Speakers and officers, prepare Bills in order to pass the Laws. It should have all powers and privileges for an Assembly, according to the rights of the free born subjects of England. Nathaniel Bacon on Bacon's Rebellion (1676) 1) What are the rebel's complaints against the government of Virginia? The government wasn't caring about the settlers welfare when it came to attacks brought on by the Native American's, and that was the complaint the rebel's had against the government of Virginia. 2) Do Bacon and his followers envision any place for Indians in Virginia society? In Bacon and his followers eyes they thought the Indians had no right there and all they wanted was the possession of the land. They saw no place for the Indians...
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...had been around since the beginning of time. Mary Rowlandson and Olaudah Equiano wrote their experiences with captivity, with different messages in mind. They dealt with fear and terror while being subjected to the evils of captivity. Although they did deal with fear, they learned from their experiences. Both Mary Rowlandson and Olaudah Equiano suffered from the horrors of kidnapping; Mary Rowlandson was captured by Native Americans in 1864, while Olaudah Equiano was captured by African slave traders and later sold to white slave traders. Through life before, during, and after captivity, Mary Rowlandson and Olaudah Equiano can be compared and contrasted. Mary Rowlandson was a young mother of three living on the frontier under the constant threat of a Native American attack. “In February 1676, she [Mary] and her three children were carried away by a Wampanoag raiding party that wanted to trade hostages for money” (Rowlandson 35). The colony Mary lived in was surrounded by Native Americans. The attackers burned down houses and opened fire on the settlers, wounding and killing several of them, and taking a number of the survivors as captives. The Native Americans begin to lead their captives, including Rowlandson and her three children, from the settlement into the surrounding wilderness. Olaudah Equiano was a member of the Ibo people, born in a part of West Africa that is now Nigeria. Olaudah was the youngest of the sons and became his mother’s favorite. His mother educated...
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...NOT TREATED AS EQUALS As America was being formed as a new nation still under British control, people strived to make their way prosperously in the new land. Labors were needed clear and farm the earth; originally those labors were indentured servants but as life improved in England less people were willing to make the sacrifice. Therefore, a new labor source was needed; people kidnapped were either kidnapped or bought as slaves in Africa then brought to the Americas or Caribbean Islands to work as labors. America fought for her independence from Britain and formed a new nation, the United States of America. The Declaration of Independence was written during that time and states that “all men are created equal,” but not all men were treated...
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...Olaudah Equiano
Imbarrato, Susan Clair. "Equiano, Olaudah." Infobase Learning - Login. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2008. Web. 22 Sept. 2014.
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...CLARSKON’S AND OLAUDAH EQUIANO’S ABOLISHMENT WORKS “The real names of our people were destroyed during slavery. The last name of my forefathers was taken from them when they were brought to America and made slaves, and then the name of the slave master was given, which we refuse, we reject that name today and refuse it. I never acknowledge it whatsoever.”- Malcolm X. Slavery is one of the biggest wounds that have never fully healed and thanks to some very brave and important people, slavery has been abolished and it was because people like both Thomas Clarkson and Olaudah Equiano were abolitionist writers, Thomas Clarkson was able to bring the truth of slavery to the forefront of people minds as he was working hard to help abolish slavery, Olaudah wrote a biography about himself and it details what happened to him as a slave and how he was able to change his life after he bought his freedom; Thomas Clarkson was able to write his essay and be able to prove his findings because he traveled 35,000 miles interviewing both the slave owners and the slaves. Slavery will never be banished from our hearts and souls because it left such a jagged scar, but some of the people who were brave enough to face the injustice helped soften the blow. Thomas Clarkson and Olaudah Equiano were both abolitionist writers, Clarkson with his essay and Equiano with his biography. Thomas Clarkson wrote an essay titled “Essay on Slavery and Commerce of the Human Species.” In his essay he describes what it...
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...Olaudah Equiano 1. Olaudah Equiano told the story of his enslavement and was born in Nigeria. 2. Olaudah Equiano was shipped to Virginia where no one was able to understand him. 3. Olaudah Equiano was kidnapped when he was eleven years old and sold. 4. Olaudah Equiano had never heard of white men, Europeans, or the sea. Benjamin Franklin 1. Benjamin Franklin published Poor Richard’s Almanack. 2. Benjamin Franklin began as an aspiring tradesman. 3. Benjamin Franklin opened a shop that sold cheese, coffee, soap, and sometimes a slave. 4. Benjamin Franklin’s Almanack became his most profitable product. Sugar Act 1. The Sugar Act raised the consequences of smuggling. 2. The Sugar Act came about in 1764 and was also called the Revenue Act. 3. The Sugar Act lowered the tax on molasses making it more appealing for shippers to follow the law. 4. The Sugar Act’s decreased tax on molasses did not stop smuggling like it was meant too. Daughters of Liberty 1. The Daughters of Liberty formed so that women could play a role in public happenings 2. Any woman in the community could make ties with the Daughters of Liberty by boycotting British goods. 3. The Daughters of Liberty held protests quietly unlike the Sons of Liberty. 4. The Daughters of Liberty would boycott things like tea, clothes, thread, etc. and were sometimes referred to as The Daughters of Industry. Thomas Gage 1. Thomas Gage was the commander...
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...north America. They were separated from their families, brothers, and sisters, sold to north American people where they used them for so many things. Most of them worked in cotton or tobacco production. Slaves were used for hard work, because they have no right and control over their situation. Slaves don’t have the right to talk or question their master. So, they are their master’s property. The narrative story of venture smith, David walker, Phillis Wheatley and Equiano are important because of their stories of hardship and their way to freedom. Smith venture, was captured when he was young. He was 6 and a half years old when they separated him from his family. Smith story was different from all slaves because, he was separated from his family several times even when he was a servant. He also tried to escape from his master with two other slaves. He worked hard to earn his freedom and that of his family. He paid 71 pounds for his freedom and 200 dollars for his two sons. Smiths does not believe in laziness,...
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