The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African
The autobiography of a formerly enslaved man, published in London in 1789 and addressed to Parliament. It describes capture in Africa, the Atlantic crossing, slavery, the purchase of his freedom and his conversion.
Olaudah Equiano published the book by subscription in London, with a dedication to both Houses of Parliament dated 24 March 1789, weeks before William Wilberforce brought the question before the Commons. He says that its chief design is to move Parliament to compassion for the miseries the slave trade had brought on his countrymen.
The book is the testimony of one man about his own life. It is a primary source for what he says he saw and suffered and for how a Black Christian in London argued against the trade. His account of his birth and childhood in Africa cannot be checked against other documents from the place, and it has been questioned; the person entry gives the reference.
Cited in
- 25 March 1807, firm date