Quotes and analysis of them from the narrative

This produced copious perspirations, so that the air soon became unfit for respiration, from a variety of loathsome smells, and brought on a sickness among the slaves, of which many died, thus falling victims to the improvident avarice, as I may call it, of their purchasers. This wretched situation was again aggravated by the galling of the chains, now become insupportable; and the filth of the necessary tubs, into which the children often fell, and were almost suffocated. The shrieks of the women, and the groans of the dying, rendered the whole a scene of horror almost inconceivable.

Equiano, 58

Equiano's writing on the Middle Passage is the section of the work most likely to end up in anthologies for history and literature classes. It is a profoundly evocative and devastating account of one of the most terrible events in human history: the forcible removal of millions of Africans from their home, and their subsequent transportation across the Atlantic in slave ships, under the most abominable and hellish conditions imaginable. Slaves were chained to the hold and had to perform their bodily functions while chained. Excrement and refuse were everywhere, and the air was heavy with noxious, harmful smells. There was no privacy, even for women and girls. Slaves could not move about, and barely escaped without their limbs atrophying. They rarely had enough to eat or drink, and would grow sick in droves. The cries of pain, terror, and grief filled the air at all times. Many had no idea why they were there, and were frightened of the white faces on the ship. Individuals were severed from their families and thrust together with strangers whose languages they could not speak. Many were beaten mercilessly. It was so terrible that many slaves wished for death, but even this was rarely possible by one's own volition. Equiano's account is a valuable source for examining the realities of the slave system, for its evocative writing and historical perspective....I thought I could plainly trace the hand of God, without whose permission a sparrow cannot fall. I began to raise my fear from man to him alone, and to call daily on his holy name with fear and reverence: and I trust he heard my supplications, and graciously condescended to answer me according to his holy word, and to implant the seeds of piety in me, even one of the meanest of his creatures.

Equiano, 88

In this quote, Equiano reveals the depth of his spirituality, and the extent to which he attributes the circumstances of life to a deity. Equiano claimed that he was born in Africa and practiced the religion of the Eboe land in which he was raised. That religion was not too different in its tenets and practices than that of the Jews, but Equiano soon learned about Christianity. Even before he converted, Equiano grew sensible of a God that existed and was aware of him. He often prayed and tried to order his behavior along Christian teachings, even believing himself to have offended God when Pascal sold him to Captain Doran. He began to notice how white men did not behave according to the precepts of their religion, and noted the events of his life that seemed to suggest a God was looking out for him. The fact that Equiano was owned largely by benevolent men assures him of God's presence. Equiano is even baptized in 1759, although his conversion later in his life was a more profoundly impactful event in his spiritual growth. Religion thus permeates the text and is an important component in Equiano's attainment of selfhood and identity.

These overseers are indeed for the most part persons of the worst character of any denomination of men in the West Indies. Unfortunately, many humane gentlemen, by not residing on their estates, are obliged to leave the management of them in the hands of these human butchers, who cut and mangle the slaves in a shocking manner on the most trifling occasions, and altogether treat them in every respect like brutes.

Equiano, 105

This quote introduces the worst of the worst offenders towards Africans - the cruel overseers of the cruel West Indies. The West Indies featured some of the most brutal episodes of slavery, and was famed for the strictness and harshness of its Barbados slave code. The sugar plantations required many slaves to work the land, and Equiano estimated that the difficulty of the work, coupled with the ill treatment by the overseers, led to an average lifespan of only sixteen years on the islands. He detailed some of the ways in which slaves were violated and abused, and here focuses on the monstrous behavior of the overseers. These white men felt the need to exercise the most arbitrary and absolute power over their slaves, devising harsh punishments and denying them every opportunity for redress or resolution. Equiano marvels that these men deigned to call themselves Christians, as their behavior was clearly contrary to the teachings of the Scriptures. Thankfully, Equiano did not have to spend all of his years as a slave in these hot, deadly climes. However, after becoming a free man, he does accept a position as an overseer of Dr. Irving's Jamaica plantation. He does not exercise the same sort of cruelty as the white men did, but many readers of the work are critical of Equiano's choice. Only by considering the work within its historical context do Equiano's actions seem less reprehensible.

But is not the slave trade entirely a war with the heart of man? And surely that which is begun by breaking down the barriers of virtue involves in its continuance destruction to every principle, and buries all sentiments in ruin!

Equiano, 110

The purpose of Equiano's Narrative was to provide a thorough indictment of the slave trade and to thereby compel the British government to abolish it. It is not a mere autobiography, but also a polemic, a political document, a call to action. Although Equiano mostly makes his point indirectly through relating the events of his life, he nonetheless succeeds in pricking consciences and questioning England's commitment to democracy, liberty, and equality. Here, he offers a striking rhetorical assault against slavery, concluding that it is incompatible with virtue, morality, and biblical teachings. The elevation of white man over black was something God never intended, and the relationship is harmful to both parties. The slave trade corrupted morality and virtue. Equiano goes further by claiming that the white man was responsible for inculcating deleterious values and behavior in their slaves, and that they had no right to be surprised when their slaves acted badly. Equiano laments the fact that, if only slaves were treated like human beings, their owners would have no cause to fear them.

What makes Equiano's Narritive different from the others.

COMMON THREADS IN SLAVE NARRATIVES

*  appeal to the audience's emotions in the form of a direct address (particular tendency to appeal to a Christian audience) *  vivid description of the violence of slavery -- includes beatings *  reality of sexual abuse (particularly of innocent females) *  separation of family and disregard for slave marriages -- contradiction of racial stereotypes of the period *  dishonest owners who regularly promise freedom and then disregard their promises vs. kind, honest whites  *  slave's desire for freedom and education --contradiction of racial stereotypes of the period *  stories detailing the impact of slavery on the humanity of slaves and their owners  *  success stories that inspire

DIRECT APPEAL TO CHRISTIAN SENSIBILITY -- "O, ye nominal Christians! might not an African ask you-- Learned you this from your God, who says unto you, Do unto all men as you would men should do unto you?  Is it not enough that we are torn from our country and friends to toil for your luxury and lust of grain?  Must every tender feeling be likewise sacrificed to your avarice?  Are the dearest friends and relations, now rendered more dear by their separation from their kindred, still to be parted from each other . . . Why are parents to lose their children, brothers their sisters, or husbands their wives?  Surely this is a new refinement in cruelty . . . " ( 763 -4).  This direct address asks the audience to think about the horrors of slavery both as Christians and people with families and friends.  A dual appeal was common in slave narratives because the author is fully aware of the prejudices and values of  his or her audience.  Africans were viewed as beasts by much of society, but this type of rhetoric forces the white audience to think about the feelings expressed by this "beast."  He doesn't sound uncivilized or uncaring about family ties.  He doesn't seem immoral and lacking in coherent thought.  He is not what the stereotype says he should be, and this could be very disturbing to a society that depended on its ability to rationalize slavery by dehumanizing the slaves.  

Equiano also relies on his Christianity to give him the strength to survive his ordeal, telling himself that he will be free if and when God wills it.

VIVID DESCRIPTION OF CRUELTY AND VIOLENCE --  Equiano describes the Middle Passage as a hellish period, providing details about the horrific conditions on the slave ship that killed thousands of slaves before they reached the shores of their new home.  Equiano's mention of the slave woman wearing the muzzle is brief, and his reaction is straightforward ("I was much shocked and astonished . . ."), but the purpose is clear.  How can a civilized audience hear of such atrocities and not be equally shocked and horrified?  He mentions the daily starvation and suffering of other slaves; he speaks of dreadful punishments (men are beaten, burned, hanged, and "staked to the ground, and cut most shockingly, and then his ears cut off bit by bit" - 773). Equiano imagines the effect of these details on his audience, and thus, he begins chapter 6 by informing the reader that he will not spend any more time detailing the torture of slaves "so frequent, and so well known . . . that it cannot any longer afford novelty to recite them" (774).

SEXUAL ABUSE OF INNOCENT FEMALE SLAVES -- One of the most poignant moments of Equiano's narrative is his separation from his beloved sister.  And although this moment is important for its emotional appeal, Equiano also uses this circumstance to make a statement about the possible fates awaiting his innocent sister.  Of course, she could die from any number of diseases, but another concern is that her "innocence and virtues" may have "fallen victims to the violence of the African trader" (758).  When placed in the context of his anguish about his inability to protect his sister, this uncertainty magnifies Equiano's pain, a realistic pain that his audience is forced to confront.  He mentions the "violent depredations on the chastity of female slaves" that he has witnessed and questions the logic that makes it a crime for a black man and a white women to have consensual sex but allows "whites to rob an innocent African girl of her virtue" (773).  The sexual danger to a woman who is also a piece of property is obvious.

CONTRAST BETWEEN WHITE CHARACTERS -- Equiano provides a listing of owners and makes it clear that he feels indebted to the whites who practiced Christian kindness and helped him to learn valuable skills, allowed him to take advantage of business opportunities, and introduced him to Christ.  Equiano catalogues several white friends whom he considered instrumental to his character development.   Richard Baker befriended Equiano and helped him adjust to a new culture and language; he was a man '"Who was not ashamed to notice, to associate with, and to be a friend and instructor of one who was ignorant, a stranger, of a different complexion, and a slave" (766).   The Miss Guerins taught him to read and arranged Equiano's baptism.  Daniel Queen taught him to read from the Bible.  Robert King taught him invaluable sailing skills, treated Equiano and his other slaves kindly, and eventually fulfilled his promise and allowed Equiano to buy his freedom.  Thomas Farmer nursed Equiano back to health when he was beaten by cruel white men and played an instrumental role in King's decision to allow Equiano his freedom.  To provide a contrast to this list of good whites, Equiano also tells of the cruel Dr. Perkins who nearly beat him to death because he didn't like "to see strange negroes in his yard" (782).    Although Equiano gives us plenty of examples of cruel slave owners and kind slave owners, he only provides us with one personal example of an owner who promised him freedom and then sold him:  Daniel Queen, the man who taught him to read from the Bible and told him that he was "as free as himself, or any other man on board" (769).  But even this dishonest act is played down a bit when Equiano later learned that Queen asked that he be sold to the best possible master because he "was a very deserving boy" (770).

DESIRE FOR FREEDOM AND EDUCATION -- From the moment of his capture, Equiano longs to be free, and soon "education and freedom" are his daily mantra.  He takes what he can from the people around him, picking up new dialects and languages while still in Africa and learning everything possible about sailing, reading, and religion from his captors.  He begins to trade small quantities of imported goods to raise money with which to purchase his freedom, telling his friend that "life had lost its relish when liberty was gone" (777).  When he secures the necessary forty pounds and is eventually allowed to purchase his freedom, he describes his feelings in rapturous terms:  " . . .who could do justice to my feelings at this moment!  Not conquering heroes themselves, in the midst of a triumph -- Not the tender mother who has just regained her lost infant, and presses it to her heart -- Not the weary, hungry, mariner, at the sight of the desired friendly port --Not the lover, when he once more embraces his beloved mistress, after she has been ravished from his arms!  All within my breast was tumult, wildness, and delirium!  My feet scarcely touched the ground, for they were winged with joy . . " (785).

And this could be the end of Equiano's slave narrative and the beginning of his autobiography as a free man of color, but he chooses to provide his readers with the words of his manumission papers as it "has something peculiar in it, and expresses the absolute power and dominion one man claims over his fellow" (785).  Why does he end on this note?  Hasn't he achieved his ultimate goal?  On paper, perhaps, but if we recall the tale of Joseph Clipson, the mulatto man who was carried away into slavery even though he had been born a free man, and Equiano's reaction to Clipson's abduction:  "Hitherto I had thought slavery only dreadful, but the state of a free negro appeared to me now equally so, and in some respects even worse, for they live in constant alarm for their liberty . . .a mockery of freedom" (779).  Does his piece of paper protect Equiano from the institution of slavery?  

INSPIRATIONAL SUCCESS STORIES -- Equiano himself is the biggest source of inspiration in his tale.  In what has often been termed the African version of Franklin's American Dream success stories, this freed slave epitomizes everything espoused by Franklin as necessary for success:  moral character, religious faith, hard work, and determination.

I believe that Equiano's autobiography "The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa", is a genuine account from hom being a African ex-slave, but I also believe that he wanted to gain some political purpose from his autobiography. as an ex-slave he wanted to tell his story of what and how he lived and survived during the slave trade era, but being in this era he wanted to make changes in the way of abolishing the slave trade, therefore using his autobiography as a voice against the bad political state he was living in at the time. with that being said I do not believe that he invented his African status to speak up against the political system, merely used his story as an African ex-slave as a voice.

The Baptisim issue!

Hugh Thomas gives important insight that slaves were either baptized before they were branded or after being sold to their masters. This evidence strongly suggests that Equiano is indeed from Africa.

The
Branding
(and Baptism)
of Slaves

by hugh thomas

The Portuguese began the practice, in Arguin in the l440s, of the carimbo, the branding of a slave with a hot iron, leaving a mark in red on the shoulder, the breast, or the upper arm, so that it was evident that he or she was the property of the king of Portugal, or some other master, and that a proper duty had been paid. This procedure survived from the Middle Ages --- indeed, from antiquity: the Romans used to brand their slaves but, when Constantine the Great ruled that slaves condemned to work in mines or fight in the arena were to be marked on the hands or legs, not the face, many slave owners substituted bronze collars for branding. Each European nation during the slaving centuries had its special procedures. Thus slaves landed at São Tome were branded with a cross on the right arm in the early sixteenth century; but, later, this design was changed to a "G," the marca de Guiné. Slaves exported from Luanda were often branded not once but twice, for they had to receive the mark of the Luso-Brazilian merchants who owned them as well as the royal arms --- on the right breast --- to signify their relation to the Crown. Sometimes, baptism led to the further branding of a cross over the royal design. Slaves of the Royal Africa Company were marked, with a burning iron upon the right breast, "DY," duke of York, after the chairman of the company. In the late eighteenth century, a "G" would indicate that the slave concerned had been marked by the Compañía Gaditana, the Cádiz company concerned to import slaves into Havana in the late 1760s. Captain Thomas Phillips, an interloper, described how

we mark'd the slaves [whom] we had bought on the breast or shoulder with a hot iron, having the ship's name on it, the place being before anointed with a little palm oil, which caused but little pain, the mark being usually well in four or five days.

The South Sea Company later branded its slaves with the distinctive mark of the port in the Spanish empire to which they were being shipped --- Cartagena, Caracas, Veracruz, and so on --- this new brand being made of gold or silver: preferably the latter, because "it made a sharper scar." That enterprise's Court of Directors in London in 1725 specified that the slaves should be marked on the

left shoulder, heating the mark red hot and rubbing the part first with a little palm or other oil and taking off the mark pretty quick, and rubbing the place again with oil.

Willem Bosman reported of his Dutch colleagues and himself, "We take all possible care that they are not burned too hard, especially the women, who are more tender than the men." A Dutch instruction of the late eighteenth century, to the Middelburgische Kamerse Compagnie, was more specific: it insisted that,

as you purchase slaves, you must mark them at the upper right arm with the silver mark CCN...the area of marking must first be rubbed with candle wax or oil; the marker should only be as hot as when applied to paper the paper gets hot....

The French had a similar technique:

After discussion, the captain inscribes on a slate the merchandise for exchange, a specific officer delivers, while the bought African waits in a prison before being attached to a ring and taken to the canoe which will carry him to the ship. The surgeon stamps the slave on the right shoulder with an iron which gives him the mark of the shippers and the ship --- it will never come off (if the slave is of second rank, he is stamped on the right thigh).

In the eighteenth century, sometimes the initials of the shipper were marked, "une pipe sous le téton gauche."
A German surgeon who traveled with the Brandenburg Company's slave ship the Friedrich Wilhelm in 1693 gave one of the most vivid descriptions. He discussed carrying out his duties in Whydah: As soon as a sufficient number of the unfortunate victims were assembled,wrote Dr. Oettinger, who was from Swabia,

they were examined by me. The healthy and strong ones were bought, while the magrones [the word was from the Portuguese magro, "weak"] --- those who had fingers or teeth missing, or were disabled --- were rejected. The slaves who had been bought then had to kneel down, twenty or thirty at a time; their right shoulder was smeared with palm oil and branded with an iron which bore the initials CABC [Churfürstlich Afrikanisch Brandenburg Compagnie]....Some of these poor people obeyed their leaders without a will of their own or any resistance....Others on the other hand howled and danced. There were... many women who filled the air with heartrending cries which could hardly be drowned by the drums, and cut me to the quick.

Pieter de Marees in 1600 reported that the Africans also branded their slaves.
By the eighteenth century, the Portuguese forbade the embarkment of any slave who had not been baptized. That had not always been so: most of the slaves taken to Portugal in the fifteenth century were not christened. That did not hinder some slaves from being received into the church afterwards, a consummation which in turn did not prevent their remaining slaves --- even if the enslavement of a Christian had been condemned by Pope Pius II. But King Manuel the Fortunate, in the early sixteenth century, ordered all masters in Portugal to baptize their slaves, on pain of losing them --- unless the slaves themselves did not want it (as was the case with the small number of Muslim slaves, mostly by then brought from West Africa). All slave children in Portugal were to be christened, whatever happened. King Manuel made it possible for black slaves in Portugal to be able to receive the sacrament from the hands of the priest of the Nossa Senhora da Conceiçãio, a church in Lisbon destroyed in the earthquake of 1755. Captains of ships could baptize slaves about to die on board their ships. This procedure was regularized by Pope Leo X, at the beginning of his pontificate, in a bull of August 1513, Eximiæ Devotionis; he also asked for a font to be built in Nossa Senhora da Conceiçãio for the baptism of slaves.
In the early seventeenth century, it became customary for slaves in Africa to be baptized before their departure from Africa. This requirement was first laid down by King Philip III of Spain (II of Portugal) in 1607 and confirmed in 1619. The slaves had, as a rule, received no instruction whatever before this ceremony, and many, perhaps most, of them had no previous indication that there was such a thing as a Christian God. So the christening was perfunctory. In Luanda, the captives would be taken to one of the six churches, or assembled in the main square. An official catechist, a slave, say, who spoke Kimbundu, the language of Luanda, would address the slaves on the nature of their Christian transformation. Then a priest would pass among the bewildered ranks, giving to each one a Christian name, which had earlier been written on a piece of paper. He would also sprinkle salt on the tongues of the slaves, and follow that with holy water. Finally, he might say, through an interpreter:

Consider that you are now children of Christ. You are going to set off for Portuguese territory, where you will learn matters of the Faith. Never think any more of your place of origin. Do not eat dogs, nor rats, nor horses. Be content.

--- ©1997 Simon & Schuster

Carretta himself suggests that his possible birth in Carolina rather than Africa in no way diminishes the power of his testimony. Autobiography, after all, is always partly fictional, the narrator excited by storytelling, by shaping and plotting the tale and by dressing up dull facts. Equiano was African in terms of origin, he knew the horrors of the slave trade which by the 1780s were widely broadcast by white abolitionists. What he did was to take it upon himself to write the first substantial account of slavery from an African viewpoint but, as importantly, to write it with pulse and heartbeat, giving passion to the subject so as to arouse sympathy and support for the cause of abolition. With Thomas Clarkson, William Wilberforce and Granville Sharpe, Equiano was a major abolitionist, working ceaselessly to expose the nature of the shameful trade. He travelled throughout Britain with copies of his book, and thousands upon thousands attended his readings. When John Wesley lay dying, it was Equiano's book he took up to reread.

Equiano's Travels

Olaudah Equiano, Paul Edwards

Olaudah Equiano’s capture by slave-traders at the age of ten took him from life in what is now Eastern Nigeria and thrust him on a fateful journey that would submerge him in an incomprehensible world. He emerged a gifted writer and has provided insights into centuries of slave trading and why the relationship between black and white seems always in favor of white.

First published in 1789, Equiano’s engaging narrative, written in English, describes his life before and after his capture—looking forward to recognition as a descendant of a chief; working on slave ships; traveling to the southern states of America, the West Indies, Europe, and the Arctic; and fighting a war. He eventually grew to be an extremely confident man who, even in the worst slavery imaginable, never lost his sense of purpose or his humanity. After buying his freedom, he was an ardent supporter of abolishing slavery. Written with a sense of literary history, Equiano’s account corrects wrong impressions about Africa and explores what it is like for an African to find himself suddenly alien in a world that considers Africans as not quite human.

questions have been provided in the link below,but the answers to these questions,where do they lead you to.these questions and answers are reffered to what Equiano has written in his narrative