Paginec. 1745–1797 · Igbo land (present-day Nigeria), by his own account · also known as Gustavus Vassa, Equiano
Olaudah Equiano wrote that he was born in the Igbo region of what is now Nigeria, kidnapped as a child and sold into slavery across the Atlantic. He served on ships, taught himself to read and write, bought his freedom in 1766, and settled in London. The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano (1789), one of the first slave narratives, became a bestseller and a key weapon of the British abolitionist movement. (Some historians question parts of his account of his birth; the book remains a founding text of Black writing in English.)
Begin with The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano.
Part of our African Literature reading list — print it, email it to yourself or share it.
Sol Plaatje · Chinua Achebe · Wole Soyinka · Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o · Naguib Mahfouz · Mariama Bâ · Nadine Gordimer · J. M. Coetzee · Bessie Head · Tsitsi Dangarembga · Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Olaudah Equiano wrote that he was born in the Igbo region of what is now Nigeria, kidnapped as a child and sold into slavery across the Atlantic. He served on ships, taught himself to read and write, bought his freedom in 1766, and settled in London.
The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano is usually considered Olaudah Equiano’s best-known work.
Most readers start with The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano.
Both refer to the same writer. Other spellings and names include Gustavus Vassa, Equiano.
Yes — 1 of Olaudah Equiano’s books are free to read online in Pagine, the free e-reader and reading tracker.