Olaudah Equiano
Jessica Diaz
Early Life
-Born in Nigeria.
-Kidnapped and sold into slavery in
childhood, later on he was taken as a
slave to the New World.
-He was a slave to a captain in the
Royal Navy, and later to a Quaker
merchant, he eventually earned the
price of his own freedom by careful
trading and saving.
-Travelled the world, including the
Mediterranean, the Caribbean, the
Atlantic, and the Arctic, the latter in an
abortive attempt to reach the North
Pole.
-Reached London, and became
involved in the movement to abolish the
slave trade.
Slavery
-Stayed for two weeks in the West Indies !
-Equiano was sent to the English colony of Virginia. !
-In 1754 he was purchased by Captain Henry Pascal, a British naval
officer. He was given the new name of Gustavus Vassa and was brought
back to England. !
-For seven years he served on British ships as Pascal's slave, participating
in several battles of the Seven Years' War. !
-Sailors taught him to read and write and to understand mathematics. !
-He was converted to Christianity, Baptized at St Margaret's Church,
Westminster, on 9 February 1759, then opting for Methodism."
"one who has a loud voice and is well spoken"
-Equiano settled in London.!
-In 1780s became involved in the abolitionist movement. The movement to
end the slave trade had been strong among Quakers, but the Society for
Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade was founded in 1787 as a nondenominational group, with Anglican members, in order to directly influence
parliament. At the time, Quakers were prohibited from being elected as MPs. !
-Equiano had become a Methodist, having been influenced by George
Whitefield's evangelism in the New World.
Marriage
-On 7 April 1792, he married Susannah Cullen, a local girl, in St
Andrew's Church in Soham, Cambridgeshire. !
-He included his marriage in every edition of his autobiography from
1792 onwards. !
-The couple had two mixed-race daughters, Anna Maria (1793–1797)
and Joanna (1795–1857).!
-Susannah died in February 1796, aged 34, and Equiano died a year
after that on 31 March 1797, aged 52.!
-The elder daughter died at the age of four, leaving the youngest child
Joanna Vassa to inherit Equiano's estate.
QUIZ
•
Where was Equiano born?
•
What influence him to become a Methodist?
•
In which movement did he get involved in 1780?
•
Where was Equiano born? Nigeria
•
Who influence him to become a Methodist? influenced
by George Whitefield's evangelism in the New World.
•
In which movement did he get involved in 1780?
Abolitionist Movement
work cited
•
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part1/1p276.html
•
http://www.brycchancarey.com/equiano/
•
http://spartacus-educational.com/Sequiano.htm