The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano: Written by Himself

by Olaudah Equiano

Overview

Equiano's narrative is the most significant autobiographical account of slavery to emerge from Britain's centuries as a slave trading and slave owning power. It remains as powerful today as it was when first published in 1789.

It tells the story of Equiano's remarkable life, recounting his years of slavery, working on ships that carried him across the empire and into battle during the Seven Years War, and the extraordinary story of how he was able to purchase his own freedom. Travelling to Britain as a free man Equiano settled in London and there became a leading figure in the early abolition movement.

The publication of his narrative was carefully timed to coincide with the first attempt to abolish the slave trade. Describing his own experiences of slavery as both victim and witness, the book became a sensation and its author the most famous black person in Georgian Britain.

In this new edition, leading historian David Olusoga sets the book in its historical context helping us to understand this complex, spiritual, politically astute and deeply passionate man. Although Equiano did not live to see the abolition of the slave trade or slavery his voice was critical to that that long campaign.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781613822418
Publisher:	Simon & Brown
Publication date:	01/24/2012
Pages:	202
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.46(d)

About the Author

Olaudah Equiano was born in 1745 in the former Kingdom of Benin. Sold into slavery at the age of ten, he purchased his freedom as an adult and became a leading figure in the abolitionist movement. His memoir The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, published in 1789, was a bestseller and went through nine different editions. He died in 1797.

Table of Contents

Foreword
Preface

LIST OF MAPS AND ILLUSTRATIONS

PART ONE

Introduction: Equiano’s Worlds

Olaudah Equiano and the Eighteenth-Century World

Equiano and the Antislavery Movement

African Identities in the New World

Equiano’s Narrative as an Abolitionist Tool

The Question of Equiano’s Origins

The Literary Context of Equiano’s Narrative

Equiano’s Legacy

PART TWO

The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African, Written by Himself

Dedication

Volume I

Volume II

PART THREE

Related Documents

Olaudah Equiano, Letter to James Tobin, January 28, 1788

Olaudah Equiano, Letter to the Committee for the Abolition of the Slave Trade, February 7, 1789

Olaudah Equiano, Letter to Thomas Hardy, May 28, 1792

William Blake, Illustrations for Narrative, of a Five Years’ Expedition . . . by John G. Stedman, 1796

APPENDIXES

An Equiano Chronology

Questions for Consideration

Selected Bibliography

Index