The document summarizes the autobiography of Olaudah Equiano, an enslaved African who was kidnapped at age 11 and sold into slavery. It details his experiences being transported across the Atlantic on a slave ship, his time spent as a slave in Virginia and Philadelphia, and how he eventually bought his freedom and became an abolitionist in England. The autobiography was published in the late 18th century and was influential in raising awareness about the cruelties of the slave trade.

1. SLAVE NARRATIVE
-Autobiography of a slave
-Exposes horrors of human bondage
-Slave’s experiences from his/her point of view

2. The Middle Passage
 Enslaved Africans crossing Atlantic 
Americas
 Approx. 15 million from 1500-1800
 1 in 8
 Almost no firsthand accounts
 Education
 Reliving

3. Olaudah Equiano
 1745-1797
 Kingdom of Benin, West Africa
 Son of tribal leader
 11 years old = kidnapped, sold to British
slave traders
 2-volume autobiography

4. Olaudah Equiano
 6-10 week Atlantic voyage on slave ship
 Anchors in Barbados
 Separated from sister, taken to Virginia
 Purchased by British captain
 Works at sea
 Renamed  Gustavus Vassa
 Enslaved for 10 years

5. Olaudah Equiano
 Philadelphia
 Manages master’s finances
 Makes own money, buys freedom
 England
 Devoted to abolition of slavery
 1787- commissary of slave ship Vernon
 500 freed slaves
 Freetown, Sierra Leone  settlement

6. The Interesting Narrative of
Olaudah Equiano
 Written for white English/American reader
 Details journey
 Virtual tour of slave ship
 Cruelty of whites to Africans
 Published 1989- very popular
 By 1794  8 editions in England, 1 in U.S.
 Made society face cruelties of slavery

7. Emotional Appeals
 Evocative words
 Trigger feelings of sympathy or outrage
 Shriek rather than yell  appeals to people
who have heard someone scream in pain
 Descriptions of Africans begging for food 
appeals to people who have felt hunger