Olaudah Equiano

Olaudah Equiano was born in 1745 in Eboe, in what is now Nigeria. When he was about eleven, Equiano was kidnapped and sold to slave traders headed to the West Indies. Though he spent a brief period in the evidence of Virginia, much of Equianos time in slavery was spent luck the maitre ds of slave ships and British navy vessels. One of his masters, Henry Pascal, the captain of a British trading vessel, gave Equiano the name Gustavas Vassa, which he use byout his life, though he published his autobiography at a lower place his African name. In service to Captain Pascal and concomitant merchant masters, Equiano traveled extensively, visiting England, Holland, Scotland, Gibraltar, Nova Scotia, the Caribbean, Pennsylvania, Georgia, and South Carolina. He was purchased in 1763 by Robert King, a Quaker merchant from Philadelphia, for whom he served as a clerk. He also worked on Kings trading sloops. Equiano, who was allowed to claim in his own minor trade exchanges, was able to deliver enough money to purchase his freedom in 1766. He settled in England in 1767, attending school and working as an assistant to scientist Dr. Charles Irving. Equiano continued to travel, making several voyages aboard trading vessels to Turkey, Portugal, Italy, Jamaica, Grenada, and North America.



In 1773 he accompanied Irving on a polar expedition in search of a northeast passage from Europe to Asia. Equiano published his autobiography, The Interesting memoir of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African, in 1789 as a two-volume work. It went through one American and eight British editions during his lifetime. Following the subject of his Interesting Narrative, Equiano traveled throughout Great Britain as an emancipationist and author. He married Susanna Cullen in 1792, with whom he had two daughters. Equiano died in London in 1797.
Volume I opens with a interpretation of Equianos native African culture, including customs associated with clothing, food, and religious practices. He...If you want to incur a full essay, order it on our website: Orderessay



If you want to get a full essay, wisit our page: write my essay .