Olaudah Equiano was one of the most prominent Africans and was responsible for gaining passage of the Slave Trade Act 1807. His efforts helped end the African trade for Britain and its colonies. He was a freed slave and was in support of the British movement to finish slave trading. He was born in Nigeria, formerly known as Eboe in 1745. The story goes that he was kidnapped and sold to slavers when he was only eleven years old. Most of his slavery period was spent serving the captains of British navy seals and slave ships.
He was soon given the name Gustavas Vassa by one of his masters and he used the name for the rest of his life but published his autobiography with the name he was born with. He travelled many different countries like England, …show more content…
As he quotes his master, Pascal who claimed that Equiano had a great interest in the English culture and was immersed in it. The master also claimed that he had started speaking English tolerably well (Page 132-133). This shows that he was always interested in learning and wanted to make a change. He expressed a great interest in the Britishers and then brought about a change also. His book on multiple occasions explains his desire for learning. He used many methods and put on his best efforts to learn something new every day. Equiano used his slavery to its advantage and made use of the knowledge of the captors. He was eager to learn and he learnt the traits of the world quickly. This helped his end his slavery and earn his freedom. He was different from other slaves and never gave up on his goals. Instead of accepting defeat, he searched for different ways to secure his freedom and chose the best path of education. It was due to his literacy and education those ten years after his death, his hard work paid off as slavery was abolished completely. Equiano became an example to the world that education and literacy are always helpful. He was also a beacon of hope and inspiration for other slaves and submissive people around the world that hard work and education can end the worst of times. Education and Literacy was essential and crucial to Olaudah Equiano as it earned him his freedom and created a
He was soon given the name Gustavas Vassa by one of his masters and he used the name for the rest of his life but published his autobiography with the name he was born with. He travelled many different countries like England, …show more content…
As he quotes his master, Pascal who claimed that Equiano had a great interest in the English culture and was immersed in it. The master also claimed that he had started speaking English tolerably well (Page 132-133). This shows that he was always interested in learning and wanted to make a change. He expressed a great interest in the Britishers and then brought about a change also. His book on multiple occasions explains his desire for learning. He used many methods and put on his best efforts to learn something new every day. Equiano used his slavery to its advantage and made use of the knowledge of the captors. He was eager to learn and he learnt the traits of the world quickly. This helped his end his slavery and earn his freedom. He was different from other slaves and never gave up on his goals. Instead of accepting defeat, he searched for different ways to secure his freedom and chose the best path of education. It was due to his literacy and education those ten years after his death, his hard work paid off as slavery was abolished completely. Equiano became an example to the world that education and literacy are always helpful. He was also a beacon of hope and inspiration for other slaves and submissive people around the world that hard work and education can end the worst of times. Education and Literacy was essential and crucial to Olaudah Equiano as it earned him his freedom and created a