The Odyssey of the African Olaudah Equiano
Olaudah Equiano’s book, titled The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, Gustavus Vassa, the African. Written by Himself, stands out prominently among autobiographies penned by former slaves in 18th-century Britain. Its comprehensive and detailed recounting, along with supporting documentation from various letters, offers unparalleled insights into Equiano's life, surpassing what we know about any of his peers.
In the late 1780s and early 1790s, Olauda Equiano rose to prominence, distinguishing himself as the most notable Black person in Britain. In contemporary times, his reputation has either matched or even surpassed the acclaim he received during his era. Today, Equiano is a recurrent figure in literary works and compilations that delve into the history of slavery and the presence of black communities in Georgian-era Britain.
Sometime in the 1750s, a young Equiano, aged between eight and eleven, recounts being abducted by African raiders alongside his sister. They, along with other prisoners, endured a grueling journey that spanned several months to the Atlantic coast. As they delved deeper into the territories dominated by the Atlantic slave trade, the brutality and violence they encountered intensified.
Image: From book by William Fox, A Brief History of the Wesleyan Missions on the West Coast of Africa (London, 1851), facing p. 116
Upon reaching the coast, Equiano's journey took a devastatingly common turn. He faced a heart-wrenching separation from his sister and found himself confined within the hull of a British slave vessel. This was during an era when Britain had become the foremost slave-trading nation in the North Atlantic, overshadowing both the Iberian countries and the Dutch. The tormenting journey across the Middle Passage, which Equiano endured on the ship's slave decks, was a perilous ordeal. Tragically, over a million Africans, between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries, didn't survive this journey.
After a short stay in Barbados, Equiano was swiftly relocated to Virginia. Within a few months, he was sold to Michael Pascal, a British naval officer. Pascal named him Gustavus Vassa, curiously after a renowned sixteenth-century Swedish king. For most of his life, he was more commonly known by this name rather than Olaudah Equiano.
It was only during his later years, when he became more publicly recognized, that the name Equiano took precedence. Being sold to Michael Pascal meant Equiano's experience with slavery deviated from the norm, but it wasn't entirely unique. Instead of toiling in the cane fields, he spent subsequent years aboard vessels that sailed the vast oceanic empire connecting Britain to its colonies.
Image: The Illustrated London News (June 20, 1857), vol. 30 p. 595.
For nearly three decades, the sea remained an integral part of Equiano's existence. His voyages took him through the West Indies, North and Central America, Britain, and the Mediterranean. Notably, he served under Michael Pascal in the Royal Navy during the Seven Years’ War, a monumental conflict predominantly between France and Britain from 1756 to 1763.
During this war, Equiano enhanced his seafaring abilities and participated in combats in the Americas and the Mediterranean. In his memoirs, he meticulously highlighted his involvement in this renowned war, showcasing his allegiance to Britain.In these formative years, Equiano became literate. Yet, after dedicating years to wartime service, he was not granted freedom as pledged by Pascal. Instead, in 1762, he found himself being traded once more—first to Captain James Doran and later to Quaker merchant Robert King.
While Equiano had spent years navigating the seas, he was dispatched to Monserrat, where he was exposed to the harshest realities of plantation slavery. However, his education and skills proved valuable, and soon he was back on the waves, contributing to the endeavors of his new owner. Benefiting from the goodwill of a compassionate ship's captain, who recognized Equiano's worth and skills, he was allowed to engage in independent trade ventures during his three-year tenure with Robert King's fleet.
Starting with a modest capital, he would buy goods at one port and sell them for a profit at another. This period honed Equiano's entrepreneurial instincts, which he later utilized as an author. Over time, in spite of numerous setbacks and thefts, Equiano gathered £40, the amount set by Robert King for his emancipation. In his narrative, "The Interesting Narrative", he labeled the day he procured his freedom from slavery as 'the happiest day I have ever experienced'.
Image: Planting the sugar-cane” (Credit: Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Photographs and Prints Division, The New York Public Library).
Although, later in his writings, he attributed this accolade to the day of his spiritual awakening, eight years afterward. His newfound freedom didn't sever his bond with the sea, but it did lead him to London as a liberated individual.
In London, Equiano pursued a career in hairdressing, immersing himself in a modest black community comprising both free individuals and those bound by varying degrees of captivity. Soon, he emerged as an influential figure within this community.
Despite his hairdressing endeavors, the sea continuously beckoned him. Over time, jobs like hairdressing and servitude didn't meet Equiano's entrepreneurial aspirations, leading him to the ocean repeatedly.
In 1773, Equiano joined an Arctic expedition led by Constantine Phipps, 2nd Baron Mulgrave. This harrowing journey, which nearly ended in catastrophe, was later vividly described in his "The Interesting Narrative". By the late 1770s, Equiano had started advocating for the oppressed black community in London. He was acquainted with anti-slavery proponents like Granville Sharp. It was Equiano who, in 1783, informed Sharp about the Zong massacre, where nearly 130 ailing Africans were thrown overboard by a slave ship crew, a heinous act motivated by insurance claims.
Image: Watercolor by unknown artist in E.D.C. Campbell and K.S. Rice, eds., Before Freedom Came: African-American Life in the Antebellum South (University Press of Virginia, 1991), plate 6, p. xv.
In 1786, after a trip to the U.S., Equiano engaged in a government initiative aimed at relocating London's 'Black Poor'. These were primarily black loyalists, many previously enslaved, who had supported British campaigns during the American War of Independence. Displaced post-war and destitute in Britain, they were perceived as a societal burden and a national disgrace, given their allegiance to the British cause.
A questionable strategy proposed relocating them to a prospective colony in Sierra Leone. As the Commissary of Provisions and Stores for this mission, Equiano watched the initiative descend into disorder and witnessed the deplorable treatment of the settlers. After reporting malpractices, he was discharged. The Sierra Leone plan was a turning point. If Equiano had embarked on this journey, he might not have survived, as only 60 of the initial 374 settlers remained alive after four years.
The abrupt end of his involvement with the project, combined with ensuing corruption allegations, spurred Equiano to defend his honor and demand unpaid wages. Newspapers of the day amplified his claims of corruption, leading to an onslaught of derogatory remarks often tinged with racism against him. Though these defamations stung, they heightened his public visibility and fortified his ties with influential abolitionist supporters.
Recognizing Equiano's unique position, many saw him as an instrumental figure in propelling the abolitionist movement and highlighting the atrocities associated with slavery and the slave trade.
Equiano's "The Interesting Narrative" was first released in 1789. Remarkably, during his lifetime, the book saw eight more editions, a notable feat in an era when a second edition was a rarity for most works. Equiano personally updated and expanded each edition, sometimes responding to critics who doubted that an African could have authored such a book.
Olaudah Equiano’s work is a foundational text in many schools across the western hemisphere.
Resources
https://docsouth.unc.edu/neh/equiano1/summary.html
https://housedivided.dickinson.edu/sites/teagle/texts/olaudah-equiano-interesting-narrative-1789/
https://www.equianosworld.org/questioning.php?id=13#sec1
https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/true-story-equiano/tnamp/
https://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=13855
https://www.bl.uk/collection-items/the-life-of-olaudah-equinao
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part1/1p276.html
https://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-resources/spotlight-primary-source/olaudah-equiano-1789
Books
Carretta, Vincent. Equiano, the African: Biography of a Self-Made Man. University of Georgia Press, 2005.
Equiano, Olauda, Paul Edwards, and S.E. Ogude. Equiano’s Travels. Abridged edition. Heinemann, 1997.
Equiano, Olaudah. The Life of Olaudah Equiano, or, Gustavus Vassa, the African. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, 1999.
Equiano, Olaudah & Olusoga, David. The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano. Hodder & Stoughton, 1789/2021.
Fryer, Peter. Staying Power: The History of Black People in Britain. University of Alberta, 1984.
Hochschild, Adam. Bury the Chains: Prophets and Rebels in the Fight to Free an Empire’s Slaves. 2006.
Petley, Christer. White Fury: A Jamaican Slaveholder and the Age of Revolution. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2018.
Ogude, S. E. “Facts into Fiction: Equiano’s Narrative Reconsidered.” Research in African Literatures 13, no. 1 (1982): 31–43
Walker, Luke. Olaudah Equiano: The Interesting Man. Wrath and Grace Publishing, 2017.
Walvin, James. An African’s Life: The Life and Times of Olaudah Equiano, 1745–1797. London: Continuum, 1998/2000.