Equiano, Olaudah
c.1745-1797 · Contribution: 1789
Autobiography and abolitionist writing; 'The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African' (1789) described his capture in Africa, the Middle Passage, enslavement, and eventual freedom
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Impact on the world
One of the first and most influential first-hand accounts of the transatlantic slave trade by an African; a best-seller that became a powerful tool of the British abolitionist movement and a foundational work of the slave-narrative genre.
Life & background
African (Igbo, likely from present-day Nigeria) writer and abolitionist born c.1745. Enslaved as a child and taken across the Atlantic, he purchased his freedom in 1766, settled in Britain, and became a leading abolitionist voice. Died March 31, 1797.
Sources
- British Library; African-American literature scholarship
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