1. The Narrative of the
Interesting Life of
Olaudah Equiano

2. Olaudah Equiano

3. Olaudah Equiano
•Also known by the name
Gustavus Vassa
•African writer, formerly a slave,
who was involved in the British
abolitionist movement to end
the slave trade

4. Equiano’s Early Years
•Equiano was born in 1745 in
what is now Nigeria.
•He was a member of the Igbo
ethnic group, which still exists.
•He was kidnapped and sold
into slavery at 11 years old.

5. The Middle Passage
•After being enslaved, Equiano
was transported across the
Atlantic, first to Barbados and
then Virginia.
•The “Middle Passage” refers to
the voyage of slave ships across
the Atlantic from Africa to the
Americas

6. Renaming Equiano
•On the slave ship, Equiano was
renamed “Michael.”
•His first owner called him
“Jacob.”
•A later owner named him
“Gustavus Vassa.”

7. Freedom and Education
•At age 20, Equiano’s owner
said he could buy his freedom.
•The owner also taught Equiano
to read and write.
•After gaining freedom, Equiano
became an abolitionist,
working to end slavery.

8. The Interesting Narrative
•Equiano’s narrative is a firsthand
account of Africa, African Slavery,
and the Middle Passage.
•The narrative was not
ghostwritten and was not
endorsed by whites at the time.

9. Genre
•Equiano’s narrative crosses
many genres: slave narrative,
abolitionist treatise, sea
adventure, and rags-to-riches
tale.

10. Themes
•Africans are both human and
intelligent.
•The Middle Passage was a
brutal, savage trip.
•Slavery is a moral outrage and
must be ended.

11. Controversy
•Some historians believe they
have baptismal records that
Equiano was born in South
Carolina.
•If this is the case, then Equiano’s
description of the Middle
Passage is fictional, though his
life as a slave is most likely non-
fiction.