Olaudah Equiano
The Interesting Narrative of the Life
of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African
First Published
NOTE: the following text is one African’s account
of the “middle passage”: the horrible trip that slaves had to endure to arrive
in the
DISCUSSION
QUESTIONS:
1) Equiano was only eleven when he was kidnapped and
sold into slavery. To what degree do you think his youth influenced his account
of slavery in Africa? For example: was his experience typical, or atypical? Or-
given his youth at the time, is his account of slavery in Africa believable?
2) Based on information
in this passage, to what extent can white people be blamed for the African
slave trade?
3) Equiano later rose to be an advocate for the
abolition of the slave trade. To what degree do you think that his biography is
biased, colored by his political agenda?
1. I hope the reader will not think I have trespassed on his
patience in introducing myself to him with some account of the manners and
customs of my country. They had been implanted in me with great care, and made
an impression on my mind, which time could not erase, and which all the
adversity and variety of fortune I have since experienced served only to rivet
and record; for, whether the love of one's country be real or imaginary, or a
lesson of reason, or an instinct of nature, I still look back with pleasure on
the first scenes of my life, though that pleasure has been for the most part
mingled with sorrow.
2. I have already acquainted the reader with the time and place of my birth. My
father, besides many slaves, had a numerous family, of which seven lived to
grow up, including myself and a sister, who was the only daughter. As I was the
youngest of the sons, I became, of course, the greatest favorite with my
mother, and was always with her; and she used to take particular pains to form
my mind. I was trained up from my earliest years in the art of war; my daily
exercise was shooting and throwing javelins; and my mother adorned me with
emblems, after the manner of our greatest warriors. In this way I grew up till
I was turned the age of eleven, when an end was put to my happiness in the
following manner.
3. Generally when the grown people in the neighborhood were gone far in the
fields to labor, the children assembled together in some of the neighbors'
premises to play; and commonly some of us used to get up a tree to look out for
any assailant, or kidnapper, that might come upon us; for they sometimes took
those opportunities of our parents absence to attack and carry off as many as
they could seize. One day, as I was watching at the top of
a tree in our yard, I saw one of those people come into the yard of our next
neighbor but one, to kidnap, there being many stout young people in it.
Immediately on this I gave the alarm of the rogue, and he was surrounded by the
stoutest of them, who entangled him with cords, so that he could not escape
till some of the grown people came and secured him. But alas! ere long it was my fate to be thus attacked, and to be
carried off, when none of the grown people were nigh. One day, when all our
people were gone out to their works as usual, and only I and my dear sister
were left to mind the house, two men and a woman got over our walls and in a
moment seized us both, and, without giving us time to cry out, or make
resistance, they stopped our mouths, and ran off with us into the nearest wood.
Here they tied our hands, and continued to carry us as far as they could, till
night came on, when we reached a small house where the robbers halted for
refreshment, and spent the night. We were then unbound, but were unable to take
any food; and, being quite overpowered by fatigue and grief, our only relief
was some sleep, which allayed our misfortune for a short time. The next morning
we left the house, and continued travelling all the day. For a long time we had
kept the woods, but at last we came into a road which I believed I knew. I had
now some hopes of being delivered; for we had advanced but a little way before
I discovered some people at a distance, on which I began to cry out for their
assistance: but my cries had no other effect than to make them tie me faster
and stop my mouth, and then they put me into a large sack. They also stopped my
sister's mouth, and tied her hands; and in this manner we proceeded till we
were out of the sight of these people. When we went to rest the following night
they offered us some victuals; but we refused it; and the only comfort we had
was in being in one another's arms all that night, and bathing each other with
our tears. But alas! we were soon deprived of even the
small comfort of weeping together.
4. The next day proved a day of greater sorrow than I had yet experienced; for
my sister and I were then separated, while we lay clasped in each other's arms.
It was in vain that we besought them not to part us; she was torn from me, and
immediately carried away, while I was left in a state of distraction not to be
described. I cried and grieved continually; and for several days I did not eat
anything but what they forced into my mouth. At length, after many days
travelling, during which I had often changed masters I got into the hands of a
chieftain, in a very pleasant country. This man had two wives and some
children, and they all used me extremely well, and did all they could to
comfort me; particularly the first wife, who was something like my mother.
Although I was a great many days journey from my father's house, yet these
people spoke exactly the same language with us. This first master of mine, as I
may call him, was a smith, and my principal employment was working his bellows,
which were the same kind as l had seen in my vicinity. They were in some
respects not unlike the stoves here in gentlemen's kitchens; and were covered
over with leather; and in the middle of that leather a stick was
fixed and a person stood up, and worked it, in the same manner as is done to
pump water out of a cask with a hand pump. I believe it was gold he worked, for
it was of a lovely bright yellow color, and was worn by the women on their
wrists and ankles. I was there I suppose about a month,
and they at last used to trust me some little distance from the house. This
liberty I used in embracing every opportunity to inquire the way to my own
home: and I also sometimes, for the same purpose, went with the maidens, in the
cool of the evenings, to bring pitchers of water from the springs for the use
of the house. I had also remarked where the sun rose in the morning, and set in
the evening, as I had travelled along; and I had observed that my father's
house was towards the rising of the sun. I therefore determined to seize
the first opportunity of making my escape, and to shape my course for that
quarter; for I was quite oppressed and weighed down by grief after my mother
and friends; and my love of liberty, ever great, was strengthened by the
mortifying circumstance of not daring to eat with the free-born children,
although I was mostly their companion.
5. While I was projecting my escape, one day an unlucky event happened, which
quite disconcerted my plan, and put an end to my hopes. I used to be sometimes
employed in assisting an elderly woman slave to cook and take care of the
poultry; and one morning, while I was feeding some chickens, I happened to toss
a small pebble at one of them, which hit it on the middle and directly killed
it. The old slave having soon after missed the chicken, inquired after it; and
on my relating the accident (for I told her the truth, because my mother world
never suffer me to tell a lie) she flew into a violent passion, threatened that
I should suffer for it; and, my master being out, she immediately went and told
her mistress what I bad done. This alarmed me very much, and I expected an
instant flogging, which to me was uncommonly dreadful; for I had seldom been
beaten at home. I therefore resolved to fly; and accordingly I ran into a
thicket that was hard by, and hid myself in the bushes. Soon afterwards my
mistress and the slave returned, and, not seeing me, they searched all the house, but not finding me, and I not making answer
when they called to me, they thought I had run away, and the whole neighborhood
was raised in the pursuit of me. In that part of the country (as in ours) the
houses and villages were skirted with woods, or shrubberies and the bushes were
so thick that a man could readily conceal himself in them, so as to elude the
strictest search. The neighbors continued the whole day looking for me, and
several times many of them came within a few yards of the place where I lay
hid. I then gave myself up for lost entirely, and expected every moment, when I
heard a rustling among the trees, to be found out, and punished by my master:
but they never discovered me, though they were often so near that I even heard
their conjectures as they were looking about for me; and I now learned from
them, that any attempt to return home would be hopeless. Most of them supposed
I had fled towards home; but the distance was so great, and the way so
intricate, that they thought I could never reach it, and that I should be lost
in the woods. When I heard this I was seized with a violent panic, and
abandoned myself to despair. Night too began to approach, and aggravated all my
fears. I had before entertained hopes of getting home, and I had determined
when it should be dark to make the attempt; but I was now convinced it was
fruitless, and I began to consider that, if possibly I could escape all other
animals, I could not those of the human kind; and that, not knowing the way, I
must perish in the woods. Thus was I like the hunted deer:
"Ev'ry leaf and ev'ry whisp'ring breath
Convey'd a foe, and ev'ry
foe a death."
6. I heard frequent rustlings among the leaves; and being pretty sure they were
snakes I expected every instant to be stung by them. This increased my anguish
and the horror of my situation became now quite insupportable. I at length
quitted the thicket, very faint and hungry, for I had not eaten or drank
anything all the day; and crept to my master's kitchen, from whence I set out
at first, and which was an open shed, and laid myself down in the ashes with an
anxious wish for death to relieve me from all my pains. I was scarcely awake in
the morning when the old woman slave who was the first up, came to light the
fire, and saw me in the fire place. She was very much surprised to see me, and
could scarcely believe her own eyes. She now promised to intercede for me, and
went for her master, who soon after came, and, having slightly reprimanded me,
ordered me to be taken care of, and not to be ill-treated.
7. Soon after this my master's only daughter, and child by his first wife,
sickened and died, which affected him so much that for some time he was almost
frantic, and really would have killed himself, had he not been watched and
prevented. However, in a small time afterwards he recovered, and I was again
sold. I was now carried to the left of the sun's rising, through many different
countries, and a number of large woods. The people I was sold to used to carry
me very often, when I was tired, either on their shoulders or on their backs. I
saw many convenient well-built sheds along the roads, at proper distances, to
accommodate the merchants and travellers, who lay in
those buildings along with their wives, who often accompany them; and they
always go well armed.
8. From the time I left my own nation I always found somebody that understood
me till I came to the sea coast. The languages of different nations did not
totally differ, nor were they so copious as those of
the Europeans, particularly the English. They were therefore easily learned;
and, while I was journeying thus through
9. I did not long remain after my sister. I was again sold, and carried
through a number of places, till, after travelling a considerable time, I came
to a town called Tinmah, in the most beautiful
country I had yet seen in
10. Thus, at the very moment I dreamed of the greatest happiness, I found
myself most miserable; and it seemed as if fortune wished to give me this taste
of joy, only to render the reverse more poignant. The change I now experienced
was as painful as it was sudden and unexpected. It was a change indeed from a
state of bliss to a scene which is inexpressible by me, as it discovered to me
an element I had never before beheld, and till then had no idea of, and wherein
such instances of hardship and cruelty continually occurred as I can never
reflect on but with horror.
11. All the nations and people I had hitherto passed through resembled our own
in their manners, customs, and language: but I came at length to a country, the
inhabitants of which differed from us in all those particulars. I was very much
struck with this difference, especially when I came among a people who did not
circumcise, and are without washing their hands. They cooked also in iron pots,
and had European cutlasses and cross bows, which were unknown to us and fought
with their fists amongst themselves. Their women were not so
modest as ours, for they ate, and drank, and slept, with their men. But, above
all, I was amazed to see no sacrifices or offerings among them. In some of
those places the people ornamented themselves with scars, and likewise filed
their teeth very sharp. They wanted sometimes to ornament me in the same
manner, but I would not suffer them; hoping that I might sometime be among a
people who did not thus disfigure themselves, as I thought they did. At last I
came to the banks of a large river, which was covered with canoes, in which the
people appeared to live with their household utensils and provisions of all
kinds. I was beyond measure astonished at this, as I had never before seen any
water larger than a pond or a rivulet: and my surprise was mingled with no
small fear when I was put into one of these canoes, and we began to paddle and
move along the river. We continued going on thus till night; and when we came
to land, and made fires on the banks, each family by themselves some dragged
their canoes on shore, others stayed and cooked in theirs, and laid in them all
night. Those on the land had mats, of which they made tents, some in the shape
of little houses: in these we slept and after the morning meal we embarked again
and proceeded as before. I was often very much astonished to see some of the
women, as well as the men, jump into the water, dive to the bottom, come up
again, and swim about.
12. Thus I continued to travel, sometimes by land, sometimes by water, through
different countries and various nations, till, at the end of six or seven
months after I had been kidnapped, I arrived at the sea coast. It would be
tedious and uninteresting to relate all the incidents which befell me during
this journey, and which I have not yet forgotten; of the various hands I passed
through, and the manners and customs of all the different people among whom I
lived: I shall therefore only observe, that in all the places where I was the
soil was exceedingly rich; the pomkins, eadas, plantains, yams, etc. etc. were in great abundance,
and of incredible size. There were also vast quantities of different gums,
though not used for any purpose, and everywhere a great deal of tobacco. The
cotton even grew quite wild; and there was plenty of red-wood. I saw no
mechanics whatever in all the way, except such as I have mentioned. The chief
employment in all these countries was agriculture, and both the males and
females, as with us were brought up to it, and trained in the arts of war.
13. The first object which saluted my eyes when I arrived on the coast was the
sea, and a slave ship, which was then riding at anchor, and waiting for its
cargo. These filled me with astonishment, which was soon converted into terror
when I was carried on board. I was immediately handled and tossed up to see if
I were found by some of the crew; and I was now persuaded that I had gotten
into a world of bad spirits, and that they were going to kill me. Their
complexions too differing so much from ours, their long hair, and the language
they spoke (which was very different from any I had ever heard), united to
confirm me in this belief. Indeed such were the horrors of my views and fears
at the moment, that, if ten thousand worlds had been my own I would have freely
parted with them all to have exchanged my condition with that of the meanest
slave in my own country. When I looked round the ship too and saw a large
furnace or copper boiling, and a multitude of black people of every description
chained together, everyone of their countenances
expressing dejection and sorrow, I no longer doubted of my fate; and quite
overpowered with horror and anguish, I fell motionless on the deck and fainted.
When I recovered a little I found some black people about me, who I believed were
some of those who brought me on board, and had been receiving their pay; they
talked to me in order to cheer me, but all in vain. I asked them if we were not
to be eaten by those white men with horrible looks, red faces, and loose hair.
They told me I was not; and one of the crew brought me a small portion of
spirituous liquor in a wine glass; but, being afraid of him, I would not take
it out of his hand. One of the blacks therefore took it from him and gave it to
me, and I took a little down my palate, which, instead of reviving me, as they
thought it would, threw me into the greatest consternation at the strange
feeling it produced having never tasted any such liquor before. Soon after this
the blacks who brought me on board went off, and left me
abandoned to despair.
14. I now saw myself deprived of all chance of returning to my native country,
or even the least glimpse of hope of gaining the shore which I now considered
as friendly; and I even wished for my former slavery in preference to my
present situation, which was filled with horrors of every kind, still
heightened by my ignorance of what I was to undergo. I was not long suffered to
indulge my grief; I was soon put down hinder the decks, and there I received
such a salutation in my nostrils as I had never experienced in my life: so
that, with the loathsomeness of the stench and crying together, I became so
sick and low that I was not able to eat, nor had I the least desire to taste
anything. I now wished for the last friend, death, to relieve me; but soon, to
my grief, two of the white men offered me eatables; and on my refusing to eat,
one of them held me fast by the hands, and laid me across I think the windlass
and tied my feet, while the other flogged me severely. I had never experienced
anything of this kind before; and although, not being used to the water, I
naturally feared that element the first time I saw it, yet nevertheless, could
I have got over the nettings, I would have jumped over the side, but I could
not; and, besides, the crew used to watch us very closely who were not chained
down to the decks, lest we should leap into the water: and I have seen some of
these poor African prisoners most severely cut for attempting to do so, and
hourly whipped for not eating. This indeed was often the case with myself. In a little time after, amongst the poor chained
men, I found some of my own nation, which in a small degree gave ease to my
mind. I inquired of these what was to be done with us; they gave me to
understand we were to be carried to these white people's country to work for
them.
15. I then was a little revived, and thought, if it were no worse than working,
my situation was not so desperate: but still I feared I should be put to death,
the white people looked and acted, as I thought, in so savage a manner; for I
had never seen among any people such instances of brutal cruelty; and this not
only shewn towards us blacks, but also to some of the
whites themselves. One white man in particular I saw, when we were permitted to
be on deck, flogged so unmercifully with a large rope near the foremast that he
died in consequence of it; and they tossed him over the side as they would have
done a brute. This made me fear these people the more; and I expected nothing
less than to be treated in the same manner. I could not help expressing my
fears and apprehensions to some of my countrymen: I asked them if these people
had no country, but lived in this hollow place (the ship): they told me they
did not, but came from a distant one. 'Then,' said I, 'how comes it in all our
country we never heard of them?' They told me because they lived so very far
off. I then asked where were their women? had they any like themselves? I was told they had: 'and
why,' said I, 'do we not see them?' They answered, because they were left
behind. I asked how the vessel could go? They told me
they could not tell; but that there were cloths put upon the masts by the help
of the ropes I saw, and then the vessel went on; and the white men had some
spell or magic they put in the water when they liked in order to stop the
vessel. I was exceedingly amazed at this account, and really thought they were
spirits. I therefore wished much to be from amongst them, for I expected they
would sacrifice me: but my wishes were vain; for we were so quartered that it
was impossible for any of us to make our escape.
16. While we stayed on the coast I was mostly on deck; and one day, to my great
astonishment, I saw one of these vessels coming in with the sails up. As soon
as the whites saw it, they gave a great shout, at which we were amazed; and the
more so as the vessel appeared larger by approaching nearer. At last she came
to an anchor in my sight, and when the anchor was let go I and my countrymen
who saw it were lost in astonishment to observe the vessel stop; and were now
convinced it was done by magic. Soon after this the other ship got her boats
out, and they came on board of us, and the people of both ships seemed very
glad to see each other. Several of the strangers also shook hands with US black
people, and made motions with their bands, signifying I suppose we were to go
to their country; but we did not understand them. At last, when the ship we
were in had got in all her cargo, they made ready with many fearful noises, and
we were all put under deck, so that we could not see how they managed the
vessel. But this disappointment was the least of my sorrow. The stench of the
hold while we were on the coast was so in tolerably loathsome, that it was
dangerous to remain there for any time, and some of us had been permitted to
stay on the deck for the fresh air; but now that the whole ship's cargo were
confined together, it became absolutely pestilential. The closeness of the
place, and the heat of the climate, added to the number in the ship, which was
so crowded that each had scarcely room to turn himself, almost suffocated us.
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. Happily perhaps for
myself I was soon reduced so low here that it was thought necessary to keep me
almost always on deck; and from my extreme youth I was not put in fetters. In
this situation I expected every hour to share the fate of my companions, some
of whom were almost daily brought upon deck at the point of death, which I
began to hope would soon put an end to my miseries. Often did I think many of
the inhabitants of the deep much more happy than
myself. I envied them the freedom they enjoyed, and as often wished I could
change my condition for theirs.
17. Every circumstance I met with served only to render my state more painful,
and heighten my apprehensions, and my opinion of the cruelty of the whites. One
day they had taken a number of fishes and when they had killed and satisfied
themselves with as many as they thought fit, to our astonishment who were on
the deck, rather than give any of them to us to eat as we expected, they tossed
the remaining fish into the sea again, although we begged and prayed for some
as well as we could, but in vain; and some of my countrymen, being pressed by
hunger, took an opportunity, when they thought no one saw them, of trying to
get a little privately; but they were discovered, and the attempt procured them
some very severe floggings. One day, when we had a smooth sea and moderate
wind, two of my wearied countrymen who were chained together (I was near them
at the time), preferring death to such a life of misery, somehow made through
the nettings and jumped into the sea: immediately another quite dejected
fellow, who, on account of his illness, was suffered to be out of irons, also
followed their example; and I believe many more would very soon have done the
same if they had not been prevented by the ship's crew, who were instantly
alarmed. Those of us that were the most active were in a moment put down under
the deck, and there was such a noise and confusion amongst the people of the
ship as I never heard before, to stop her, and get the boat out to go after the
slaves. However two of the wretches were drowned, but they got the other, and
afterwards flogged him unmercifully for thus attempting to prefer death to
slavery. In this manner we continued to undergo more hardships than I can now
relate, hardships which are inseparable from this accursed trade. Many a time
we were near suffocation from the want of fresh air, which we were often
without for whole days together. This, and the stench of the necessary tubs,
carried off many. During our passage I first saw flying fishes, which surprised
me very much: they used frequently to fly across the ship, and many of them
fell on the deck. I also now first saw the use of the quadrant; I had often
with astonishment seen the mariners make observations with it, and I could not
think what it meant. They at last took notice of my surprise and one of them,
willing to increase it, as well as to gratify my curiosity made me one day look
through it. The clouds appeared to me to be land, which disappeared as they
passed along. This heightened my wonder; and I was now more persuaded than ever
that I was in another world, and that every thing about me was magic.
18. At last we came in sight of the
19. As every object was new to me everything I saw filled me with surprise.
What struck me first was that the houses were built with stories, and in every
other respect different from those in
Taken from Hanover Historical Texts Project (http://history.hanover.edu/texts/Equiano/equiano_ch2_a.htm)