A remarkable account of early slavery and later freedom, «The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano» is the 1789 autobiography of former slave Olaudah Equiano. His life is a tale of terror, as well as an exciting adventure. He tells of his abduction from Africa at the age of ten, and his subsequent years of labor on slave ships. During and after this time, he fervently attempts to gain independence: he studies the Bible and carefully saves his money. After surviving a decade in...
A remarkable account of early slavery and later freedom, “The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano” is the 1789 autobiography of former slave Olaudah Equiano. His life is a tale of terror as well as an exciting adventure. He tells of his abduction from Africa at the age of ten, and his subsequent years of labor on slave ships. During and after this time, he fervently attempts to gain independence. He studies the Bible and carefully saves his money. After surviving a decade in...
Slave narratives are powerful indictments of the horrors of slavery and oppression, invaluable not only for the stories they tell but also for the consistently high quality of their literary style. This book by Olaudah Equiano is one such story. A compelling account that has gripped and fascinated readers since its original London publication in 1789, the narrative describes Equiano's formidable journey from captivity to freedom and literacy.Charting a passage that takes him from life as an...
This eBook edition of «The Life Story of Olaudah Equiano» has been formatted to the highest digital standards and adjusted for readability on all devices. "The Life of Olaudah Equiano" is one of the earliest-known examples of published writing by an African writer and the first influential slave narrative of what became a large literary genre. Equiano's autobiography helped in the creation of the Slave Trade Act 1807 which ended the African slave trade for Britain and its colonies.
This book describes Equiano's time spent in enslavement and documents his attempts at becoming an independent man through his study of the Bible along with his eventual success in gaining his own freedom and in business thereafter. Published in 1789 and attracting attention, was considered highly influential in gaining passage of the Slave Trade Act 1807, which ended the African trade for Britain and its colonies. Excerpt: "I believe it is difficult for those who publish their own...