Né in 1745 in present-day Nigeria, Olaudah Equiano was kidnapped from his village and sold into slavery. He endured the horrors of the crossing aboard a slave ship. A British officer in the Royal Navy used him as a servant during voyages between Europe and North America. After purchasing his freedom in 1766, Equiano moved to England and became active in the abolitionist movement. He wrote editorials in the newspapers, helped organize a group of black Londoners known as the sons of Africa and called on the British crown to take action against slavery. He also became one of the earliest proponents in history for interracial marriage, which he believed would break down color barriers and inspire racial harmony.
Equiano's greatest contribution to abolitionism came in 1789, when he published lhe interesting story from the life of Olaudah Equiano, an autobiography now considered one of the earliest tales of slaves. The book was a bestseller, and he spent years visiting the British Isles and using his life story to illustrate the evils of slavery. Equiano died in 1797 (ten years before Britain finally abolished trade).
Equiano's text is certainly a militant act, but it is also a private diary, a story full of twists, meetings, discoveries. The man tells his story and illustrates all his identities. African black, slave, traveler, self-made man and emblem of freedom. This story is famous in the United States and England. It has become a classic studied in universities.
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