FREE ESSAY ON OLAUDAH EQUIANO

OLAUDAH EQUIANO

An ironsmith, ship steward, crewman, cook, clerk, navigator, amateur scientist, and even a
hairdresser. These are all jobs that Olaudah Equiano held during his lifetime. He has
been called the most influential African writer in both Africa, America and Britain
before the Civil War, and was born in Essaka, Nigeria sometime during 1745 (O'Neale,
153). His family was part of the Ibo tribe, which was located in the North Ika Ibo region
of Essaka. In his earliest years, Olaudah Equiano was trained in the art of war. His
daily exercises included shooting and throwing javelins. As he states in his
autobiography, two men and a woman, who came over the walls while the rest of the family
was away, abducted Olaudah and his sister in 1756 (Equiano, 356). He was only eleven
years old. The two of them would only be reunited when Equiano was sold a second time.
They did not remain together that long because he would be sold again. 
Olaudah Equiano would eventually be sold to a man by the name of Michael Henry Pascal, an
officer of the British Royal Navy, who set sail for the American continent. Michael
Pascal renamed him Gustavus Vassa. In the years that followed, Olaudah became a great
seaman and sailed around the world. His stops included the slave-trading islands of
the West Indies, England, Ireland, Wales, France, Portugal, Italy, Central America,
Georgia, Virginia, Philadelphia and New England. It seemed that he traveled everywhere
except to where he really wanted to go, which was Africa. It was during these years that
he learned the English language and values from a seaman by the name of Richard Baker. 
By 1759 Equiano had become fully articulate in the English language. He 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 grant Equiano his freedom. Instead he
confiscated all of Equiano's books and sold him to the captain of a slave ship in 1763.
His new owner, Robert King, would eventually sell Equiano his freedom in 1766 for 70
pounds. Robert King asked Equiano to remain as his employee and Equiano did. This led him
to Georgia where he was almost captured and resold into slavery. It was also during this
time that Equiano got rid of the name Gustavus Vassa. 
In 1768, Equiano returned to London, England and began an apprenticeship to a
hairdresser. It was also during this time that he became employed by Dr. Charles Irving.
It was with Dr. Irving that Equiano would go to the North Pole in 1773 and barely escaped
death when their ship struck an iceberg. In 1786 Equiano was appointed commissary for
Stores for the Black Poor. This was a social outreach group of the British antislavery
movement that saw returning blacks to Africa as the best way to end British slave trade
(O'Neale, 157). He was fired after five months because of a conflict he had with Joseph
Irwin. This conflict drew criticism onto Equiano but he would regain his status in the
abolition movement by publishing responses to the criticism in the British newspapers. 
In 1789, Equiano's autobiography was published in London and by 1790 Equiano was fully
involved in the antislavery movement in Britain. He petitioned the Queen and the
Parliament to end the slavery. The following year the autobiography was published in
America. It has been said no black voice before Frederick Douglass in his Narrative of
1845 spoke so movingly to American readers about inhumanity (Murphy,354). Equiano would
finally settle and marry Susan Cullen on April 7, 1792. They had two girls who were named
Ann Marie and Johana. Some sources say Equiano died in 1801 while others say 1797. We are
not sure which one is correct. One of his daughters did die a few months after he did.
His wife and other daughter then left the limelight and no record of them has been found.
Equiano's book has lasted over two hundred years and has gone through eight editions. And
is still being called the most successful prose work written by an African in the Western
World until the start of the American Civil War (O'Neale, 157).
Olaudah Equiano I must say had a most interesting life as a slave. He has gone through
almost every single event a slave could have gone through. The most interesting part of
his journeys is his treatment as a slave. He at some points is treated well and doesn't
know what to make of it as a slave. One example is his first owners used to let him sit
at the table during dinnertime. In other points he experiences many of his own kind and
the inhumane treatment they experience. But all in all Olaudah Equiano unlike many other
slaves kept his composure and his humbleness towards all he met in his journeys. He never
felt any anger towards his masters. After witnessing all the cruelties his masters
committed on other slaves. The horrendous stories of cutting a mans leg of for running
away or the half hanging of one slave and then burnt for attempting to poison his cruel
master. (Equiano, 484) 
Olaudah Equiano had many views about slavery. I saw slavery in a very different viewpoint
than many other slaves. Through his searching, Equiano found a personal relationship with
God according to the Bible to be true. Influenced by God, but still discovering his own
way, Equiano did not reject his culture or believe slavery was a good thing as much as he
adapted to his new environment and made the most of it.
As a sailor, Equiano had escaped many dangers, and it was these brushes with death that
caused him to reflect deeply on his eternal state. (Equiano 1044) Equiano thought about
death a lot during his hard life as a slave. During this time period people did not live
like they did in today's world. Death came at any moment at any corner. He writes, the
fear of eternity daily harassed my mind and fears of death…weighed me down.
(Equiano 1045) As Equiano studied the Bible he learned that God is not just holding all
above a fire waiting to drop them in. He came to an understanding that God is not just
the God of Judgment, but also more importantly the God of grace and mercy. He believed in
the invisible hand of God, which guided and protected him. This attitude helped Equiano
View the unconverted people of the world in a very awful state, being without God and
without hope. Strangely Equiano believed that God dies for us all on the cross. This
helped Equiano believe that temporary earthly slavery and spiritual salvation were better
than a life of earthly freedom but spiritual death. (Equiano, 1049) Equiano never turned
his back on his culture he simply adapted to survive in it.