Olaudah Equiano

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Rough Draft Olaudah Equiano was an individual who overcame a lot of adversity and his writings influenced the perception of African Americans in England forever. He was taken from his home in Africa by slavers when he was young and separated from his family. However, he eventually bought his freedom and moved to England to affect the abolitionist movement there. Even though he had a rough start to his life, Olaudah Equiano rose above the hardships to had a great influence on the abolitionist movement and shed a light on the injustices of the slave trade. Slavery was a huge part of Olaudah’s life and he did his best once he was free to have it abolished in England. He was captured at a young age and moved around with whoever his master was. “He …show more content…

He traveled to England for the first time when he was still a slave. "Equiano departed Virginia with Pascal for England, arriving in England on December 14, 1754” (“Olaudah Equiano” 1). He wrote a novel about his time as a slave and all the injustices of the slave trade. It was a bestseller and it opened the eyes to a lot of English people who did not know about what went on behind the scenes of the slave trade. He published it in 1789 and it was called “The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano or Gustavus Vasa, the African.” Also he worked for a group that returned slaves to Africa but he was fired after only working there for a couple of months because of his disagreements with the leader of the group who was British. Also, at one point he urged the Queen and Parliament to end slavery in England and he said, “Your Majesty’s well known benevolence and humanity emboldens me to approach your royal presence… I supplicate… for millions of my African countrymen, who groan under the lash of tyranny in the West Indies.” (O’Neale 5). His impassioned speeches and persuasive writings were a huge part of how slavery was outlawed in

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