He bought his own freedom, then wrote the book that helped end the trade.
Olaudah Equiano was born around 1745, in West Africa according to his own account, though a 1759 ship muster records his birthplace as South Carolina, and both versions are part of the documented record.
Enslaved as a child, he was sold many times across the Atlantic world before buying his own freedom in 1766 for forty pounds. He turned his life into argument.
In 1789 he published The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African, Written by Himself, a first-hand account that ran through nine editions in his lifetime and became a central text of the British abolitionist campaign, shifting public opinion towards abolition page by page. He married Susanna Cullen in Soham, Cambridgeshire, in 1792, and built a public life as a writer and campaigner.
He died in London on 31 March 1797, his book carrying his testimony far beyond his own years.
His record is in the British Library. His card is in the deck.
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Timeline
- 1745Born c. 1745, in West Africa according to his own account.
- 1756Enslaved as a child and sold multiple times across the Atlantic.
- 1766Bought his freedom for forty pounds sterling.
- 1789Published The Interesting Narrative, which ran through nine editions in his lifetime.
- 1792Married Susanna Cullen in Soham, Cambridgeshire.
- 1797Died in London on 31 March, aged approximately 52.
0 salutes
I salute Olaudah Equiano, who bought his freedom and wrote the book that helped end the trade.
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