Olaudah Equiano

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses the life of Olaudah Equiano, through his autobiography, "The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano". The paper outlines Equiano's life as a slave, illustrating how during his lifetime, he was bought and sold like a commodity. The atrocities, cruelties and hardships of slavery are portrayed as they were witnessed by Equiano. The paper points out that Equiano tells his story with an unbiased, fair and accurate historical tone.

From the Paper:

"Equiano was born in 1745 in an Ibo village in Nigeria. In 1756 he was kidnapped by British slave traders and taken to the West Indies. He eventually ended up on a Virginia Plantation. Equiano lived through the Seven Year's War, which was one of the most important naval battles in history. During this battle, he was owned by a British man, Lt. Michael Henry Pascal, who had bought him as a gift for his cousin in London. Equiano fought for the British during the seven-year war against France. Even though he had earned his freedom by fighting in the war, Pascal would not allow Equiano his freedom. Instead he took away all of Equiano's books and sold him to the captain of a slave ship in 1763. He was then sold to Robert King, a Quaker who eventually sold him his freedom for forty pounds."

More papers on Olaudah Equiano:

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• Book Review # 122987 : "Olaudah Equiano - An Autobiography"
• Book Review # 113679 : "Slavery and the "Life of Olaudah Equiano"

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