Instead, he worked as a slave in numerous households in what is now Nigeria before reaching the coast. While scholars may debate about this particular fact as a reason to change ones outlook on the authors trustworthiness, it is important to take into account the influence of Equianos work as a whole. After about half a year, Equiano arrived on the west coast of Africa, where he was sold once more to European slave traders, and then boarded a slave ship bound for the Caribbean. Refine any search. Equiano married a woman named Susannah Cullen in 1792; they had two daughters, only one of whom survived to adulthood. It went through a number of printings and was even translated into other languages. One of his daughters survived to inherit the sizeable estate he left at his death on 31 March 1797. After serving his master for a number of yearseven serving in the Seven Years War (French and Indian War)Pascal decided to sell Equiano. His story is an inspiration to all who read it, and his contributions to literature and to the fight against slavery are significant and lasting. What is particularly important about this source, however, is Equiano's placement into the hold of the slave ship. According to his own account, Equiano was captured in his Igbo village at age 11, sold into slavery, and taken to the West Indies. What does the crown of thorns symbolize in literature. After weeping and grieving for a time, he grew calmer, thinking this was God's way to teach him wisdom and resignation. The narrative that Equiano proposed in his work should have expanded beyond one person to the nations that suffered from slavery. Why are Olaudah Equiano writings important? Equiano switches the stereotypical terms of civilized and savage by calling an African tribe more civilized than English culture. A planter in Virginia sold him to Michael Henry Pascal, an officer in the British Royal Navy. Where Was Olaudah Equiano Born? Bryan Carey. 2 Why should Olaudah Equiano be remembered? Equianos book offered the first full description of the middle passage, a description harrowing in its sensory vividness: The stench of the hold while we were on the coast was so intolerably loathsome, that it was dangerous to remain there for any time, and some of us had been permitted to stay on the deck for the fresh air; but now that the whole ships cargo were confined together, it became absolutely pestilential. Although Equiano himself might have been born in America, other slaves were being brought from Africa on a regular basis. Equiano is clearly familiar with the genre of the spiritual autobiography, the Puritan form of self-examination and life writing that shaped works such as Defoes Robinson Crusoe, and he also cites English poets such as John Milton and Alexander Pope, demonstrating his mastery of the canon of great English literature. His work helped to build support for the abolition movement and ultimately helped lead to the end of slavery in the British Empire. Creating notes and highlights requires a free LitCharts account. Vincent Carretta, probably the leading scholar in the United States on Equianos work and life, has discovered documents such as Royal Navy muster rolls where Equiano (identified for much of his adult life as Gustavus Vassa, the name given to him by Michael Pascal, his first owner) is recorded as having been born in colonial South Carolina. Olaudah Equiano was an important early voice in the fight against slavery. two cultures name their children in light of an important event or a notable . Equiano was subsequently enslaved by two other people. 3 What did Olaudah Equianos autobiography or personal story explain? In addition to his work as an abolitionist, Equiano was also a pioneering explorer. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. At the end of his account of the Middle Passage, Equiano pauses his narrative and addresses the reader: Might not an African ask you, learned you this from your God, who says unto you, Do unto all men as you would men should do unto you?. He briefly was commissary to Sierra Leone for the Committee for the Relief of the Black Poor; he was replaced after he expressed his concerns for settlerssome 500 to 600 formerly enslaved peopleand how they were poorly treated before their journey to Sierra Leone. He became an outspoken opponent of the transatlantic slave trade during the 1780s, first in letters and book reviews in London newspapers, and then in his autobiography. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. [5] Equiano, The Interesting Narrative, 208. However, Equiano's narrative also acknowledges the contradictions in English nationality and expresses that he's able to hold both the African and English identities at once. The publication of the Interesting Narrative was an important event in its own right. Within a few weeks, he says, he was brought to Virginia. IvyPanda. With a front-row seat to their parents failures and burnout, a long line of pastors kids still went into ministry. London: Cassell, 1998. Politics, Music, and Literature Enthusiast. However, the fact that some of these aspects might have been untrue for Equiano does not mean that these elements have been false for every slave. In grabbing the rowdy indian governor, he then tells him the wrath of god will strike him down for his behavior. The life of Olaudah Equiano, otherwise known as Gustavus Vassa, is interesting for a number of reasons. So too does the record of his baptism into Christianity in 1759 at St. Margarets Church in London. 5660. Equianos autobiography was so popular that it ran through nine English editions and one printing in the United States and was translated into Dutch, German, and Russian during his lifetime. Though Equiano desired to return to Africa, he never did. Created by the original team behind SparkNotes, LitCharts are the world's best literature guides. Your privacy is extremely important to us. Recent biographical discoveries cast doubt on Equianos story of his birth and early years. See pp. His preferred identity that of a Christian European under the name of Gustavus Vassa eventually was able to also retain the African aspects of Olaudah Equiano through the similarities of his former nations customs and that of this western religion of Christianity allowing for him to see himself finally as, culturally, a natural European. He was born into a local tribe and described the area he grew up in as a "nation of dancers, musicians and poets.". [13] Equiano, The Interesting Narrative, 137. He travelled widely promoting the book, which became immensely . Therefore, even if the story of Equiano is untrue in some parts, the overall verisimilitude of the narrative should not be affected. A: Well, for people in Africa, Equiano's narrative is very important because it is the anchor of African studies. Subscribe to CT Secondly, while many slaves of the following generations were born in captivity and not in the countries of their nations, it did not affect the way slave sellers and buyers treated them. However, the credibility of this author was undermined by various scholars, who started to argue that Equianos place of birth was not Africa, as the author wrote but South Carolina. Slavery in the United States continued until the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. "Equianos Influence and Narrative." This produced copious perspirations, so that 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. While enslaved in his homeland, kidnappers kept Equiano separated from his sister. Important account of the intellectual and political origins of the rise of the movement to abolish the transatlantic slave trade, noting Equianos role in that movement. His travels enabled him to observe and comment on the many types of involuntary servitude known during the 18th century. Much of the power of Equianos narrative stems from the fact that it is a first-person testimony of what he has witnessed and experienced, but he also uses his narrative as a means of recording a wide variety of non-personal experiences associated with the slave trade. [13] Without his exposure to Christianity early into his service with his first master, Equiano would not be the man we now know him as today; faithful, honest, reputable, and a man with an important story to tell. Olaudah Equiano was a seaman, writer, an ex-slave, and a merchant. Detailed quotes explanations with page numbers for every important quote on the site. The Kidnapped Prince: The Life of Olaudah Equiano. In his memoir, he writes that he grew to the point where he yearned for death. In 1797, he died in England, around the age of 52, without seeing the goal come to fruition. Through the cultural worldview he had learned as a child, Equiano found God at work in his life when he been enslaved and when he had been rescued from near-death experiences. It contains thousands of paper examples on a wide variety of topics, all donated by helpful students. Moral Capital: Foundations of British Abolitionism. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc. Teachers and parents! Hochschild, Adam. The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, Or Gustavus Vassa, The African, first published in 1789 in London, is the autobiography of Olaudah Equiano.The narrative is argued to represent a variety of styles, such as a slavery narrative, travel narrative, and spiritual narrative. Columbus and Christianity in the Americas: Christian History Timeline, How One Familys Faith Survived Three Generations in the Pulpit, My Church Band Raised a Hallelujah on Netflixs Beef, Subscribe to CT magazine for full access to the. Copyright information regarding third party material is noted in context wherever possible. Equiano is walking a careful balance between arguing that there are insoluble contradictions to the slave trade, and acknowledging that there are different levels of inhumanity. [3] Equiano, The Interesting Narrative, 151. ANSWER:- Olaudah Equiano was born in 1745 in Eboe, in what is now Nigeria. He is commonly known today as Equiano because that is the name he either reclaimed or assumed when he published his autobiography, even though he continued to use the name Vassa before, during, and after the publication of his book. A: Well, for people in Africa, Equiano's narrative is very important because it is the anchor of African studies. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2005. May 24, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/equianos-influence-and-narrative/. He powerfully uses the very kind of reason so prized in Enlightenment England to refute the logical arguments of those who seek to maintain the institution. What has the author Olaudah Equiano written? As Equiano later recorded in his writings, this was a place where slave women were raped and where one slave was punished by being staked to the ground and having hot wax poured on his back. As a freeman Equiano shows preference to his European cultural identity but very often is seen in the eyes of others, and treated as such, as an African ex-slave with no true rights and lesser of worth than his fellow white man. Thus, the place of birth of one man should not have diminished the lives of millions of other slaves. When I went in I made my obeisance to my master, and with my money in my hand, and many fears in my heart, I prayed him to be as good his offer to me, when he was pleased to promise me my freedom as soon as I could purchase it. The fact that Equianos life may be seen as a template for a slave narrative is not accidental. It is possible that Equiano decided to change some facts about his early life in order to create a life story that would be more appealing to the general audience. IvyPanda. Considers Equiano the first political leader of Britains black community (p. 102). IvyPanda. Equiano, the African: Biography of a Self-Made Man (University of Georgia, 2005) extends Carretta's research on Equiano's origins to provide the first scholarly biography in over thirty years of the man known in the Western world for . Europeans would capture black people in Africa, or buy them from traders on the coast; they would then ship them to the West Indies to be sold as slaves, trading them for raw goods cultivated on plantations, and would carry these raw materials back to Europe to be processed and then sold in Africa and elsewhere. In his attempted conversion of the indian prince he comments; I was well pleased at this, and took great delight in him, and used much supplication to God for his conversion.[4] His work with the indian prince assured him of Gods will and his faith was then strengthened by his own actions. The most frequently excerpted sections are the early chapters on his life in Africa and his experience on the Middle Passage crossing the Atlantic to America. His desperation and devastation as described here are also meant to explain the actions of slaves more broadly, whether they deal with enslavement through resignation or, conversely, by attempting to run away or to rebel. Yet, Equiano was put in the hold with the adults, giving him a different experience entirely. Using his memoir, historians think that Olaudah Equiano was born in the year 1745, in the Kingdom of Benin - what is now modern-day Nigeria. Identifies Equiano as one of the early Afro-British writers who greatly influenced the development of African American literature (p. 63). Such medallions were sold to support the Societys efforts, and the emblem was widely distributed in print as well. Therefore, he chose to craft a narrative that followed the lives of many slaves that Equiano possibly met throughout the course of his life. Your email address will not be published. Susanna died in 1796 and Olaudah died in 1797. [12] Equiano, The Interesting Narrative, 166. Among his experiences, religion greatly influenced Equiano in developing a certain character found like-able among his masters as a slave. Because so many white people consider slaves as less than humanan assumption encoded into the law itselfthey can get away with treating slaves violently and with total impunity. When first on board the slave ship Equiano describes a horrid scene in which, One white man in particular I saw flogged so unmercifully with a large rope near the foremast, that he died in consequence for it; and they tossed him over the side as they would have done a brute.[6] This first experience gave Equiano the impression that these men were horrible unmerciful creatures or even evil spirits that were to punish them to no purpose with his opinion formed through his statement of, Every circumstance I met with served only to render my opinion of the cruelty of the whites.[7] Once purchased by a benevolent master, Michael Henry Pascal, Equianos perspective of the European changes drastically from one of a barbaric race to a civilized and advanced culture. That license does not apply to third-party material. Olaudah Equiano A very readable account that relies heavily on Equianos autobiography, rather than offering new biographical information. Andrews, William L. His Interesting Narrative served as the foremost abolitionist writing of the day because he was an African voice that described the violence and degradation of the slave trade and of slavery itself. Equiano is always eager to point out Kings exceptional status among slave owners; implicit all the while is the contradiction between Kings benevolence and his continued participation in the slave trade himself. According to his Interesting Narrative, the author was born in what is now eastern Nigeria, in Igboland, in 1745. Users without a subscription are not able to see the full content on Through his work with the Indian prince, Equiano reaffirmed his faith in Christianity himself then allowing for the actions he takes in quelling a riot once on the island, visiting with the tribe. Retrieved from https://ivypanda.com/essays/equianos-influence-and-narrative/. Teach your students to analyze literature like LitCharts does. The crisis of Equianos self identity is primarily due to his struggle with Christianity but his interactions among Europeans and slaves in his travels play an important role as well. 54, no. He was born in the Kingdom of Benin. Many of these anecdotes are told in acute, uncomfortable, and even disturbing detail. What did Olaudah Equianos autobiography or personal story explain? Equiano later recounted a conversation he had with a Mr. Drummond who boasted of selling 41,000 Africans into slavery. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. Further, he refutes the idea that darker skin denoted inferiority, instead, drawing upon European writings that argued that climate produced dark skin. About a century before, British colonies had ruled that baptism had no bearing on the status of an enslaved African. Every circumstance I met with served only to render my state more painful, and heighten my apprehensions, and my opinion of the cruelty of the whites. CTWeekly delivers the best content from ChristianityToday.com to your inbox each week. [6] Equiano, The Interesting Narrative, 57. The question of where Equiano was born will probably remain unresolved until better documentary evidence or new ways of understanding the evidence that we already have become available. Equiano wrote, I have seen a negro man staked to the ground, and cut most shockingly another negro man was half hanged and then burnt, bringing the attention of people to the tortures that black people had to endure because of their origin (5). "Equianos Influence and Narrative." Good Names: Olaudah Equiano or Gustavus Vassa. The Eighteenth Century, vol. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. Image: Painting by William Denton / Colorized by Rick Szuecs. He was a man who managed to overcome tremendous odds to achieve success and make a difference in the world. ", "One of the key problems today is that politics is such a disgrace, good people don't go into government.". 1. [12] Throughout his memoir, Equiano is easily seen to be leaning towards either his African ancestry or the European culture he now finds himself involuntarily a part of. 2021. They're like having in-class notes for every discussion!, This is absolutely THE best teacher resource I have ever purchased. We will write a custom Essay on Equianos Influence and Narrative specifically for you for only 11.00 9.35/page. Equianos life and work offer a unique perspective on the African-American experience. Thus, his story and its contents had an immeasurable value to slaves as well as sympathizers and abolitionists. The immense value of his writings encompasses the feeling of the burden that slavery brought to the people that suffered from it. The original text plus a side-by-side modern translation of. The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, Written by Himself, became a best-seller both in England and America, and fueled the beginnings of an anti-slavery movement. Equianos narrative spurred nine English editions through 1794 and was published in Dutch, French, and Russian. The database is updated daily, so anyone can easily find a relevant essay example. The first autobiography written by a former slave, Olaudah Equiano's The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano is also one of the most widely-read and well-regarded of the slave narrative genre. What does thunder in summer symbolize in literature? Proudly powered by WordPress Subscribers were thus taking an interest in this book in the financial sense, publicly advancing resources to support Equiano and the movement that the book was published to support. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. In every discipline, you study Equiano. During his lifetime, he was mostly known as Gustavus Vassa. Equianos turn to Christianity can be see here, in part, as resulting from his resignation to the lack of justice available on earth. IvyPanda. Origin stories. Your email address will not be published. Olaudah equiano why is he important for american literature, Olaudah Equiano American Literature Oxford Bibliographies, Olaudah Equiano | Biography, Book, Autobiography, & Facts, The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, Olaudah Equiano Slavery and Remembrance, Olaudah Equiano (1745-1797) Georgetown University, The Interesting Narrative of theLife of Olaudah Equiano. In his memoir, he drew connections between his traumatic life experiences and meeting God: Now every leading providential circumstance that happened to me, from the day I was taken from my parents to that hour, was then, in my view, as if it had but just then occurred. Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet. -Graham S. Though King is kind to Equiano, he continues to participate in the slave trade himself, enriching himself off the labor of others. Bruce, Dickson D., Jr. Luebering is Vice President, Editorial at Encyclopaedia Britannica. Virtue was a key Enlightenment-era attribute in European society, and Equiano uses it now against Europeans themselves. The Interesting Narrative is an essential work because of Equianos vivid rendering of enslaved peoples experience of the slave trade, his picture of 18th-century Africa as a model of social harmony defiled by greed, and his eloquent argument in support of abolition. [4] Equiano, The Interesting Narrative, 203. Equianos Influence and Narrative. -Graham S. For the nearly 300 years that preceded Olaudah Equianos writing of his life, the international slave trade had shrunk the world like never before: globalization could already describe this interconnected relationship between humans, goods, and places. He also wrote an autobiography that helped to spread awareness of the horrors of slavery and the slave trade. He was also one of the first to escape from slavery and tell his story to the world. Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press, 2005. The first autobiography written by a former slave, Olaudah Equianos The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano is also one of the most widely-read and well-regarded of the slave narrative genre. must. Eric Michael Washington is an associate professor of history at Calvin College, Grand Rapids, Michigan. However, the question of credibility of the facts introduced in his book may change ones perception of Equianos narrative. (Note: While historians have questioned his account, after reading their arguments and doing my own assessment of the documents, I am inclined to trust the veracity of Equianos story.) This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. But this legality did little for Equiano. Though Equiano gained his freedom in the Caribbean, he was also simultaneously confronted with the reality of the unimaginable violence perpetrated against slaves. This is IvyPanda's free database of academic paper samples. As he began to ascertain more of the culture he soon began to want to imitate and even imbibe their spirit.[8] This change in opinion often went from negative to positive, and vice versa, as Equiano experienced the harsh conditions slaves were subjected to in the West Indies and then the freedoms and racial tolerance of Europe. Carretta 2005 is the authoritative study. Teacher Editions with classroom activities for all 1725 titles we cover. Carretta, Vincent. The servants of the Miss Guerins spoke to him which persuaded him, their servants told me I could not go to heaven, unless I was baptized.[1] Once baptized, Equianos entire perception of life began to revolutionize within his thoughts on his self and others; I began to raise my fear from man to him alone, and to call daily on his holy name with fear and reverence.[2] Later as a freeman, Equiano is sailing for his former master Mr. King in order to repay him for his benevolence in freeing him when his ship wrecks on a rock by the Bahama Banks due to the negligence of a new captain. You'll be able to access your notes and highlights, make requests, and get updates on new titles. Doran has sensed Equianos frustration and desperation, and for him those feelings are problematic, not because Equiano is a human who suffers, but because the possibility for his escape represents a risk to the economic investment that Doran has made in his piece of property. Nonetheless, it does seem that this Quaker (a religious group known at the time for its abolitionist views) might be a means of Equianos eventual liberation.