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Neely M. Hill

HY 105 MWF 11-11:50am

Dr. Van Sant

The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano Review

In 1482 Portuguese sailors landed on the Congo River in Congo, Africa and established

trade with manikongo, Lord of Kongo, thus beginning the slave trade (Conn Ch. 23). The slave

trade continued well into the early twentieth century taking around sixteen million Africans from

their homes and families. In the beginning African’s often welcomed European’s engaging in

commercial trade and exchanges based on mutual interest (Conn Ch.23). Over time however

exchanges increasingly became centered on capture and sale of slaves. Slavery by definition is

an intuition in which some people own other human beings and use them for their labor.

Although Africa did have its own form of slavery it was drastically different from the Atlantic

Slave Trade. African slaves were prisoners of war, victims of raids, criminals or debtors, and

children sold by destitute parents. It was possible for slaves to buy or earn freedom, marry free

people, and even have free children. The Atlantic slave trade, also known as the Triangle Trade,

was system in which European goods were traded in Africa for slaves, which were then

transported to the Americans where they were forced to produce raw materials that were shipped

to Europe to produce goods. America being the source of raw materials for European goods is

one of the reasons the Atlantic slave trade took off (Conn Ch.23). The journey to the America’s

became known as the Middle Passage, in which almost three million-two hundred thousand

slaves died just crossing the Atlantic. Mostly men were taken as slaves in the beginning, then

women and children. Olaudah Equiano, also known as Gustavus Vassa, was such a child. He and

his sister were taken during the day while adults were working; Olaudah (who was the youngest
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out of the two) was only eleven. His father was a chief or elder of the village, that followed an

Embrenche code. Embrenche is a form of facial disfiguration in which the forehead is cut and

the skin is folded down to form a weal on the bottom of the forehead (E Ch1). Those marked

with the Embrenche decided disputed and punished crimes, his brothers already had the

Embrenche, and before Olaudah was taken he was to follow them. His book The Interesting

Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, is about his personal journey from being captured as a

slave and taken from all family traditions being taken out of Africa completely, growing as a

person within his slavery, and his life as a free man.

First, Olaudah a child taken out of his home in Africa, across the Atlantic to the West

Indies while also was being sold to several masters to becoming a young man. One day in Eboe,

present day Lagos, Olaudah was at home watching the neighbor for assailants or kidnappers

because all the adults are working in the fields he sees his sister being carried off. While going to

aid his sister, Olaudah is captured as well, they are both tied up and gaged (E Ch.2). This is

significant because he was taken by people who knew his society, people who knew when the

adults would be in the field. He and his sister were separated when Olaudah was sold to his first

master, who was not much different than his own father (E Ch.2). His master is a smith, so

Olaudah often worked at his bellows for him. The people in his master’s house also spoke the

same language as Olaudah, because his master lived only a few days from Olaudah’s father’s

house. Wanting to return home Olaudah runs away but is spotted by one of the kitchen slaves

and returns. After the death of his master’s daughter he is sold. On his way to his next master he

sees his sister for the last time, a meeting few siblings taken into slavery ever got to have.

Kidnapped from a widow, Olaudah is taken to the sea. Before he was at the coast he had never

even heard of the sea or European’s then he is put on a slave ship which he believed was full of
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“evil spirits that were going to kill him,” and he was not completely wrong (E Ch.2). After

refusing to eat, he is beaten by sailors. Olaudah does me fellow countrymen while on the ship,

whom he questions about not knowing of European’s and the sea. On deck he witness’s a ships

sails being brought up, and becomes interested in sailing. The ship stops in Barbados but

Olaudah is not bought, possibly due to his age, and is back on the ship headed for Virginia. Once

in Virginia he works on a plantation where no one speaks the same language, and witnesses the

pure evils of slavery. A fellow slave is placed in an iron muzzle that does not allow the person to

talk, eat, or drink (E Ch.3). While still in Virginia he is purchased by Michael Henry Pascal, a

lieutenant in the royal navy for a friend back in England; thus beginning the next part of his

journey as a young man to able sailor.

Next, under the care of Michael Henry Pascal Olaudah not only grows from a young man

to able sailor, he also begins his education and finds his salvation. Pascal renames Olaudah to

Gustavus Vassa, a Swedish nobleman who led a successful revolt against Danish rule in the

1520’s, governed Sweden from 1523 to 1560. This possible gave Olaudah encouragement as a

freeman to fight slavery on behalf of his fellow countrymen. Pascal and Olaudah travel to

England, where Olaudah sees snow for the first time, and befriends a fellow slave Richard Baker,

also known as Dick who is four or five years older than Olaudah (E Ch.3). Pascal, Olaudah, and

Dick all sail to Guernsey, Holland, and Scotland together while Pascal works for a merchant

ship. Pascal sends Olaudah and Dick to London, England, where Olaudah gets chilblains, painful

inflammation and swelling of hands and feet caused by exposure to cold, and small pox; Olaudah

is not immune to all European diseases (E Ch.3). Once Pascal is back in the navy he is appointed

twice, so Olaudah and Dick are taken with him aboard different ships were they learn how to be

sailors. Dick however is left on the first ship, Preston where he dies in 1759. Later Olaudah
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receives a chest that was Dick’s, this was a grim time for Olaudah for he and Dick were like

brothers (E Ch.3). Olaudah moves to Royal George then Namur with Pascal. He witnesses the

battle of Louisburg, while aboard Namur (E Ch.3). While Pascal and Olaudah are in London,

Pascal sends Olaudah to Miss Guerin (E Ch.4). Miss Guerin who was kind to Olaudah sent him

to school; very few slaves learned to read and write, even fewer went to school (E Ch.4). This

was a big deal to Olaudah, which it should have been, and he did not take this lightly, he used his

knowledge to help others, and help end slavery for all Africans. In February 1759, Olaudah was

baptized as Gustavus Vassa in St. Margaret’s church, Westminster upon Miss Guerin’s request

of Pascal. Miss Guerin also stood in as Olaudah’s godmother for the baptism, where he received

the book Essay towards and Instruction for the Indians by a clergyman (E Ch.4) which he had

seen before. Pascal and Olaudah are at sea again, Olaudah finds hears of Dick’s death, the pair

sail for Gibraltar. Then Pascal send Olaudah to West Indies again to be sold into slavery, were he

is taken to Mr. King (E Ch.5). Mr. King takes Olaudah to Philadelphia where he lives, but then

puts Olaudah on his ships where he earns 15 pence, others did not get paid this well if paid at all

(E Ch.5). Other slaves in the West Indies were tortured by their masters, while still in the West

Indies Olaudah learns of the iron muzzle, thumb-screws, and boxes just the length and width of a

man that slaves were forced into. Most likely because of his sea background Mr. King lets

Olaudah travel with a captain in 1763, this enables him to try commerce and buy his own bible

(E Ch.6). This is the beginning of Olaudah’s long awaited freedom.

Finally, Olaudah Equiano an African from Eboe buys his freedom though he has come to

terms with his place in life he knows it was a price he never should have had to pay, with his

freedom he continuous to be a sailor, helps fellow slaves, and works for two different doctors.

On July 11, 1766 Olaudah buys his freedom from Mr. King, who writes a letter declaring it (E
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Ch. 7). He works as a free sailor for the captain (as mentioned in previous paragraph), who dies

during a voyage leaving Olaudah to captain the ship (E Ch.7). Olaudah travels back to England;

his new found home since living there when not at sea with Pascal, is employed by Dr. Charles

helping with experiments; at night when not working with the doctor Olaudah studied. Again at

sea travels to Villa, France, Nice, and Leghorn and learns to navigate as well (E Ch.9).

Employed by Dr. Irving in England to travel with him, while on the Race Horse Olaudah almost

catches the ship on fire while trying to write in a journal. No longer working for Dr. Irving,

Olaudah becomes concerned about his salvation, possibly due to his constant change in location,

and position; he visits several different churches and different denominations. Finally, while

aboard Hope with Captain Richard Strange after getting an infection, Olaudah finds salvation

that he knows to be real (E Ch.10). Olaudah tries to help a friend, John Annis who was a cook

but the lawyer ran away with his money (E Ch.10), even in England a slave winning a case

against a white man was impossible. Going back to Dr. Irving, Olaudah helps him set up a

planation in Jamaica. Not being able to set free his own people, he hires countrymen for Dr.

Irving knowing they will be taken care of, and not mistreated like the slaves in the West Indies

who were almost beaten to death for doing little or anything wrong (E Ch.11 & 5). Finding his

countrymen different than he remembers his family being, and waiting to sail again he leaves Dr.

Irving again on June 15, 1767. In 1779 Olaudah is employed by Governor Machamara, who

wanted to send him to Africa as a missionary but was refused to be ordained by the Bishop. Still

in London Olaudah was sent for by a committee of poor blacks, they wanted him to serve as a

leader traveling with them back to Africa. The government did hire him to go; they traveled

aboard Nautilus commanded by Captain Thompson who took them (E Ch.12). The Nautilus

landed in Sierra Leone in June, but the expedition was a failure. Olaudah was dismissed from the
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service on March 24 (E Ch.12). Almost a year later on March 21, 1788 Olaudah writes the

Queen Charlotte, wife of King George III, a petition on behalf of fellow Africans (E Ch.12).

Olaudah continued to advocate against slavery for the rest of his life. He married Susanna Cullen

in 1792 they had two daughters Manna Maria and Johanna. When he died in March 31, 1797

there were nine editions of his book in several languages. Then in 1807 ten years after his death

England and the United States ended their involvement in the slave trade.

To conclude Olaudah Equiano known and baptized as Gustavus Vassa, or whatever his

master decided to call him because he was taken from a family and forced into slavery. What

would have happened to Olaudah if he was not taken from his family, and lived his own life of

his choosing, no one will ever know. The same is true for sixteen million African’s taken from

their families and forced into slavery. Olaudah’s story is an extremely fortunate one in

comparison to others of his time; perhaps that’s also why he considers himself a “favorite of

heaven”. He was taught to read, write, to sail, and even navigate, giving him skills to succeed on

his own. Very few slaves were also given all the same skills to better their lives. However the

lives of all sixteen million people taken out of Africa were changed, just as the people in Africa

changed as well. In West Africa the economic focus shifted its political balance from interior to

Atlantic and Gulf of Guinea coast. East Africa was terrorized by war raids for slaves, gold, and

converts (Conn Ch.23). The sub-Sahara region lost almost fifteen million people alone. The

Amerind’s population never recovered, because most Africans lived in clans or with family

raising small farms (Conn Ch.23). Remember the saying, “it takes a village to raise a child” for

many communities half of their village was taken over time. West and Central Africa also had an

increase in polygenic marriages because most of the male population was taken first. While East

Africa had less because most of the people taken as slaves out of East Africa were women taken
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to Muslim populated areas. The African slave trade shifted wealth from Indian Ocean to the

Atlantic and to America and Europe (Conn Ch.23). Finally in 1807 Britain and the United States

abolished slavery followed by Spain in 1811, the Dutch in 1814, France and the Netherlands in

1818, and Portugal in 1869. The rest is history.