Olaudah Equiano, a slave turned antislavery activist, was born in 1745 in Igboland, Essaka. Older children were often given the task of acting as lookouts and if they saw any traders approaching the … The book is called The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano; or, Gustavus Vassa, the African, Written by Himself (1789). Olaudah Equiano was born in 1745 in the African country that is now Nigeria. The region is situated in the present day Southeastern Nigeria. He was born some time around the year 1745 in the Kingdom of Benin, an area found in present-day Nigeria. Text. Olaudah Equiano, kidnapped at age 11, became one of the most prominent English abolitionists of the 18th century. Olaudah Equiano The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African (London, 1789; vol. Equiano's own The Interesting Narrative of the Life of O. Equiano, or G. Vassa, the African was first published in two volumes in London, 1789, with eight new editions to 1795 and several more thereafter. My father, besides many slaves, had a numerous family, of which seven lived to grow up, including myself and a sister, who was the only daughter. Olaudah Equiano , (born c. 1745, Essaka [in present-day Nigeria]?—died March 31, 1797, London, England), self-proclaimed West African sold into slavery and later freed. Proofread and posted by Raluca Preotu, August 1999. Olaudah Equiano (/əˈlaʊda/) (c. 1745 – 31 March 1797), known for most of his life as Gustavus Vassa (/ ˈ v æ s ə /), was a writer and abolitionist from, according to his memoir, the Eboe region of the Kingdom of Benin (today southern Nigeria). Olaudah Equiano was born in the year 1745 in the Kingdom of Benin, which today in the southern region of the modern country of Nigeria. Source: Olaudah Equiano - life on board - International Slavery Museum, Liverpool museums "The first object which saluted my eyes when I arrived on the coast was the sea, and a slave ship, which was then riding at anchor and waiting for its cargo. Further Reading on Olaudah Equiano. Enslaved as a child in Africa, he was taken to the Caribbean and sold as a slave to a Royal Navy officer. Olaudah Equiano did not have a typical childhood. Excerpt I. Enslavement. Equiano, Olaudahc. The adults worked in the fields during the day leaving the children to fend for themselves in the village. He was from the local Igbo tribe and was the youngest of the seven children of his parents. Olaudah Equiano was a slave whose autobiography is considered by many to be the first significant work about an enslaved person’s life. Olaudah Equiano, The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano or Gustavus Vassa the African, 1791. Olaudah Equiano Biography, Life, Interesting Facts CHILDHOOD AND EARLY LIFE. Chapter II 45-88 Recently it has appeared in an abridged edition by Paul Edwards, Equiano's Travels: His Autobiography (1967), and in full in Arna Bontemps, ed., Proofread and pages added by Jonathan Perry, March 2001. These filled me with astonishment which was soon converted to terror… His narrative is extremely valuable not only for the wealth of information it presents on children's experiences in the slave trade, but also for those examining the abolitionist movement in England during this period of time. 1745 Nigeria, Africa 1797 England Freedman, sailor, author, and abolitionist "The next day proved a day of greater sorrow than I had yet experienced; for my sister and I were then separated, while we lay clasped in each other's arms. The Kingdom of Benin was located along the western cost of Africa, which was a common route of European slave traders who then transported the slaves to the New World. 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