In Olaudah Equiano’s book, readers are given an opportunity to view slavery during the 18th century from a perspective that is not commonly shared: that of a slave himself. Because many slaves of that time did not and could not receive proper education in reading and writing, Equiano’s account is both interesting and meaningful for the reader to begin to understand the life of a slave. Equiano shares with the reader his experience in slavery, provides historical information and expresses the feelings and beliefs of both white and black people during his time. He wanted to not only share his experience, but wanted for the reader to come to an understanding of how unfair his struggles in life were due to slavery. He also hoped that his words would help to continue the abolishment movement in England.
At the time the first edition of his book was written (in 1789), many books and essays were being published to help spread the idea of abolishment in England. Equiano’s book is especially meaningful because he understood that “what the opposition to the slave trade needed in 1789 was not another account of the Middle Passage by a white observer, but rather testimony from an enslaved African survivor of it.” (p. xiv) Equiano was able to successfully do just that by recording his own of account of being sold into slavery multiple times, dealing with unjust masters, being subjected to unfair laws against blacks and eventually buying his own freedom, only to again run into a series of undeserved encounters and situations.
Although Equiano gives a wonderful account of his life, starting as a small child and ending well into his adult years, his narrative is slightly impaired by the occassional inaccuracy of dates and places. Throughout his narrative, Equiano states various series of events that he was witness to throughout his lifetime. The editor does an amazing job at pinpointing actual dates and places that these events actually occurred. At some points, Equiano is off on dates by just a few days. In other points, Equiano is off weeks, months or even years.
One good example of this is that Equiano says that he was born in Africa in 1745. (p. 32) Later, he says that he was sold into slavery at the age of 11 in 1754. If this were true, Equiano would have been only nine at the time of his enslavement. Equiano must have either been born in 1743 (to be 11 in 1754), or he was only nine-years-old at the time of enslavement.
While there are some discrepancies in Equiano’s accounts, overall he added a sense of trust and authenticity to his story by naming a number of people, places and dates that aligned with his experiences. For example, Equiano states that he was baptized in England in February 1759. (p. 63) The editor is able to note a parish register that confirms that Gustavus Vassa (Equiano’s name given to him during the slave trade) was baptized in February 1759. (p. 261) There are also a number of ships and voyages that Equiano names he was a part of and that the editor is able to find documentation for.
As noted above, the editor does an excellent job at explaining dates and places. In addition to this, the editor also effectively explains to the reader a variety of terms and phrases that were common to the reader in Equiano’s time, but have since become unknown to the modern reader. He also makes references to other books and essays published around the same time or since Equiano’s book to further explain some of the points that Equiano made.
Equiano’s book gives both the readers of his time and modern day readers an informative account of what it was like to be a slave during the 18th century. He effectively accomplishes his goal of enlightening his contemporaries of the struggles that blacks encountered during this time in history. He also effectively gives a narrative different from what was commonly published during that time-a personal account from a black slave, as opposed to views on the need for abolishment from a white person.
Olaudah Equiano, The Interesting Narrative and Other Writings. Edited by Vincent Carretta. New York: Penguin Books, 2003.
