In Olaudah Equiano’s book, readers are given the opportunity to see slavery in the 18th century from an uncommon perspective: that of the slave himself. Because many slaves of that time could not receive proper education to read and write, Equiano’s account is both interesting and significant because the reader will begin to understand the life of a slave. Equiano shares with the reader the experience of slavery, provides historical information, and expresses the feelings and beliefs of both white and black people during his time. Not only did he want to share his experience, but he wanted the reader to understand how unfair life struggles were due to slavery. He also hoped that his words would continue to support the abolitionist movement in England.
At the time the first edition of his book was written (in 1789), many Books and Commentaries were published. aid spread the idea of abolition in England. Equiani’s book is most significant because he understood that “what opposition to the slave trade was necessary in 1789 was not another reason. the Middle Passages by the white observer, but the testimony of surviving African slavery.” (p. 14) Equiano could do well to be in slavery many times, dealing with unjust masters, subject to unjust laws against blacks, and finally redeeming his freedom by remembering his own, and reducing him to servitude. into an undeserved series of struggles and situations.
Although Equiano gives a wonderful account of his life, beginning as a child and ending well into adulthood, his narrative is somewhat diminished by the neglect of time and place. Throughout his narrative, Equianus asserts various series of events which he witnessed throughout his life. The editor does an amazing job of indicating the exact dates and places where the events took place. Sometimes, Equiano enjoys the space of a few days. At other points, Equiano stops for weeks, months, or even years.
One good example is that Equianus says that he was born in Africa in 1745, p. 32; Later he says that he sold him into slavery at the age of 11, 1754. If it were true, it would have been Equiano. 8 in the time of his service. Equiano must have been born either in 1743 (11 in 1754) or only at the time of his years of service.
Although there are some discrepancies in Equiano’s narratives, he added a sense of great faith and belief to his narrative by naming several people, places, and days that paid tribute to his experiences. For example, Equiano states that he was baptized in England in February 1759. (p. 63) the publisher can note a parish register which confirms that Gustavus Vassa (the name given to him in the Equiano slave trade) was baptized in February 1759. . (p. 261) There are also some ships and voyages, which were part of Equiano’s vocabulary, and which the editor can find in the documents.
As mentioned above, the editor does an excellent job in explaining the times and places. In addition to this, the editor also effectively explains to the reader various words and phrases that were common to the reader in Equiano’s time, but later unknown to the modern reader. He also makes references to other books and essays published around the same time or since Equiano’s book to further explain the points that Equiano made.
Equiani’s book provides an informative account of what a slave was like in the 18th century for both contemporary and modern-day readers. It effectively accomplishes its goal of illuminating the struggles of its contemporaries that blacks faced during this time in history . It also effectively provides a different narrative from what was commonly published at the time – a personal account from a black slave, as opposed to a white man’s view of the necessity of abolition.
Olaudah Equiano, Historical Narrative and Memoirs of Other Writers Edited by Vincent Carretta. New York: Penguin Books, 2003.
