In Equiano lifetime, historical events are presented throughout the narration. The African slave trade also known as the Atlantic slave trade is essentially the foundation and what brings hardship into his life. African men, women and children are taken from their native home and put on the market as slaves to be sold in the Caribbean, America and Europe (Skabelund) .He also makes several references to Barbados, as being one of the worst places for Africans to go (Equiano). The economy during the 18th century became prosperous because of the slave trade. Africans underwent poor living conditions and cruel punishment. In the Chapter 2, Equiano speaks about his experience while being transported. He states that under the ship deck, the stench …show more content…
It shows how religion serves two main purposes during this time. It is used to justify slavery and later, to use it against it. Slave owners would take passages from the bible and interpret it as this was God’s design to own slaves and conform them to Christianity. This was the Christian thing to do according to God’s will. The bible was a powerful tool for slaves and it was often prohibited for Africans to access it. This is proven by when Equiano wasn’t able to purchase a bible during his travel in the West Indies. Slaves would be able to find encouragement from the scriptures and any possibility of rebellion or enlightenment was a fear for slave owners. The abolition movement was established by the Quakers to end the slave trade. Their campaign was built on the belief that God crated everyone equal in his eyes. The Quakers would preach reform in West Indies, American and Britain colonies. The significance the Quakers have is represented by the countless encounters and involvement Equiano shares with …show more content…
It is used to justify slavery and later, to use against it. Slave owners would take passages from the bible and interpret it as God’s design to own slaves and conform them to Christianity. This was the Christian thing to do according to God’s will. The bible was a powerful tool for slaves and it was often prohibited for an African to get. This is proven by when Equiano wasn’t able to purchase a bible during his travel in the West Indies. Slaves would be able to find encouragement from the scriptures and any possibility of rebellion or enlightenment was a fear for slave owners. The abolition movement was established by the Quakers to end the slave trade. Their campaign was built on the belief that God crated everyone equal in his eyes. The Quakers would preach reform in West Indies, American and Britain colonies. The significance the Quakers have is represented by the countless encounters and involvement Equiano shares with
First published in 1789, Volume I focuses on Equiano’s short time in Africa followed by his treacherous journey as a slave. He begins the narrative with an in depth description of his homeland of Nigeria, speaking of their food, clothes, and religious views. He then recounts the events following his kidnapping, as well as the treacherous expedition from Africa to the West Indies known as the Middle Passage. Once in the West Indies, Equiano saw firsthand the selling of his countrymen. While there, he was not purchased, so Equiano was taken to Virginia, where he labored in the fields of a plantation. Not long after arriving in Virginia, Equiano was sold to Henry Pascal, a lieutenant in the British navy. After purchasing Equiano, Pascal returned to England. During their journey, Pascal renamed Equiano Gustavus Vassa. Once in England, Equiano began to go to church with his new friend Robert Baker, who began to teach him to read and write. Pascal later sent Equiano to work for his sisters, the Guerins. The Guerins promoted his education and Christianity, and eventually, the sisters convinced Pascal to permit Equiano to be baptized. Eqiano was extremely loyal to Pascal, but after a few years the slave was sold to James Doran. Equiano was astonished th...
The novel The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano exists as an extremely important work in the abolitionist movement in England. As an 18th century narrative written by a former black slave the novel provides a glimpse into the lives of the African slaves involved in the slave trade as well as the slave traders themselves. Even with the controversy over the authenticity of Equiano’s claims on his origin in Africa and his subsequent voyage through the Middle Passage, this novel serves as a powerfully instructive piece of literature. Throughout the novel Equiano strives to impress upon the reader a certain set of moral standards or ideals that he desires to instruct the reader about. One such moral ideal that is prevalent throughout the entirety of the novel is Equiano’s construction of the idea of the value and worth of the African slaves, as opposed to the view of the African slaves as simply commodities or objects to be purchased and traded. Equiano argues and presses the reader and his audience to recognize that the African slave and the white slave owner are not as different as his audience may believe. In order to proclaim and showcase this idea of the value and worth of African slaves, Equiano uses the Christian religion to develop and sustain his argument. In many cases during Equiano’s time period, and for a while afterwards, Christianity and the Bible were used in defense of slavery, and this fact makes Equiano’s claim more powerful and groundbreaking. One of the key attributes of the novel is Equiano’s spiritual conversion and religious revelations. I believe that Equiano’s Christianity serves to connect him with his audience, increases his credibility as an author, and ultimately proclaims the disparity ...
He was trade to another master by the name of Mr. Robert King, a Quaker. Just when Equiano lost hope and prefer being dead than to be a slave due to his mistreatment by masters and the hypocrisy he encounter, he gains faith again when he saw that Mr. King was very different than other masters, Mr. King was kind, patient and did not mistreat his slaves. As Equiano travels with Mr. King he came across masters that brutally mistreat slaves, some were cut into pieces and some were burned with wax. Nevertheless Equiano came across many places where slaves were treated nicely for instance in West Indies where slave treated lenity and proper care. Equiano saw that in these lands Negroes were cheerful and healthy due to the treatment they receive. However, in Barbados it was not a very nice place for African slaves. Equiano meet other Negroes that share their stories and experiences in Barbados, they face many injustice and mistreatment from white people specially females slaves that were raped including children. Besides of these actions slaves did not have control of their property or possession, there were no rights towards slaves. They explain that they felt worthless, when they encounter a situation where they felt like they were being taken advantage by other whites, they turn to their master to fight for their right in which turn out to be not so great, the poor negro turn to god every time he was mistreated to find
The point of view of slavery is going to be substantially different than from the previous views discussed coming from the slaves themselves. On January 18, 1773, a letter was written to Robert Pleasants, a Quaker; from Patrick Henry, a Virginian who was discussing the enslavement of African Americans in the colonies and his position on the matter. Henry being a white man in the Revolutionary era held power, was educated, and was able to articulate on the matter of slavery. Since Henry is discussing slavery from the view of the Quaker’s belief systems, his point of view is from a non-Christian standpoint. This opposes the discussion that gives any relationship of white colonists and African American slaves through the unity of sharing and worshiping the same
The slave trade, yet horrific in it’s inhumanity, became an important aspect of the world’s economy during the eighteenth century. During a time when thousands of Africans were being traded for currency, Olaudah Equiano became one of countless children kidnapped and sold on the black market as a slave. Slavery existed centuries before the birth of Equiano (1745), but strengthened drastically due to an increasing demand for labor in the developing western hemisphere, especially in the Caribbean and Carolinas. Through illogical justification, slave trading became a powerful facet of commerce, regardless of its deliberate mistreatment of human beings by other human beings. Olaudah Equiano was able to overcome this intense adversity and actually accumulate wealth by making the best of certain situations he faced throughout his experiences. Even though he was a victim of the slave trade, he willfully took advantage of the opportunity to see the world and to become a productive individual.
Douglass’ explains his view of religion as “When I think that these precious souls are to-day shut up in the prison-house of slavery, my feelings overcome me, and I am almost ready to ask, “Does a righteous God govern the universe? And for what does he hold the thunders in his right hand, if not to smite the oppressor, and deliver the spoiled out of the hand of the spoiler? (p.48).” He wonders how a righteous God can rule the universe, and yet still allow cruel things like slavery to exist. One of the ways Douglass shows himself to be a Christian, is by quoting the Bible, “Dark and terrible as is this picture, I hold it to be s...
Christianity was used as a tool for keeping the slaves docile and obedient to their master. They were only taught passages that emphasized submissiveness and learned only their master’s words. Throughout their narratives both Frederick Douglass and Harriet Jacobs expose the hypocrisy and moral contradictions between the religion slaveholders preach and true Christianity. We learn that having a religious master is one of the worst things as a slave because masters feel a certain entitlement to commit these horrible crimes and that God is behind them. Separating the Christianity of the South and true or Godly Christianity became essential in realizing that religion could be used as justification for freedom. Douglass’ and Jacobs’ ability to read allowed them to make their own inferences of the Bible and learned that God did not advocate enslavement. This alienation enabled them to use faith and the Bible’s passages relaying equality as tools against their enslavement, first mentally and then
Slavery was a dominant part of the political and social arenas of 1800’s America. However, it was not homogenous as it divided America into two distinct groups: those who supported it and those who did not. Traditionally, the states in the north had been anti-slavery while the states in the south had been pro-slavery. Southern life and economy depended on slavery and therefore staunchly supported the continued legal status of slavery. The northern states on the other hand recognized the inhumane nature of slavery and campaigned to establish equality for all citizens. In order to establish solid reasoning for their stance, both pro-slave and anti-slave groups turned to theological inspiration for their actions. The Bible inspired both pro-slavery advocates and anti-slavery abolitionists alike. Religion was used in order to justify slavery and also to condemn it.
As is the case with gender, racial, and marriage equality, the struggles of the United States are often mirrored in the church. Few issues have the church struggled more with than the debate over racial equality. Slavery was birthed in the American way of life before the United States were actual one nation. Slavery itself is a product of racism, the rawest form of racial inequality. It was so engrained into society that the early church was convinced of its complete lack of moral malpractice. An early 19th century Baptist minister, Dr. Richard Furman would use the New Testament scripture as evidence for Biblical support that the concept of slavery was not morally corrupt. He would claim that “masters are not required to emancipate their slaves; but to give them the things that are just and equal.” This reasoning asks the question of what the Ephesians author intended when writing
Most African Americans of the early to mid-nineteenth century experienced slavery on plantations similar to the experiences described by Frederick Douglass; the majority of slaves lived on units owned by planters who had twenty or more slaves. The planters and the white masters of these agrarian communities sought to ensure their personal safety and the profitability of their enterprises by using all the tactics-physical and psychological-at their command to make slaves obedient. Even Christianity was manipulated in a way that masters communicated to their slaves that God had commanded them to obey their masters. People like Frederick Douglass who preached abolition of slavery, only had to nurture the already existing spirit within slaves to strive for freedom.
...ti-slavery propaganda to inspire and founded the American Anti-Slavery Society. Their argument against slavery was that Christianity promoted morality and goodwill to others and therefor God could not support such an institution. “Slaveholding is a heinous crime in the sight of God, and that the duty, safety and best interests of all concerned, require its immediate abandonment” (Tindall, Shi 544). In addition the North argued that the Constitution assured human rights and therefore the institution of slavery which treated people as property was a violation of the Constitution.
Equiano’s enslavement lasted from 1756 – 1766. The number of Africans enslaved and traded varies from source to source, but a good estimate of slaves taken across the Atlantic was around sixty million. Of this number, only 16% survived (Donaldson). Although there were many African’s on the journey, there were many different artifacts
“I love the pure, peaceable, and impartial Christianity of Christ: I therefore hate the corrupt, slaveholding, women-whipping, cradle-plundering, partial and hypocritical Christianity of the land. Indeed, I can see no reason, but the most deceitful one, for calling the religion of this land Christianity.” Frederick Douglas’s infamous quote was used to explain how slave masters seem to value a different form of Christianity than he was used to. Slave masters would explain to slaves and slave families that Christianity wrote it into their bible and laws that they were meant to be slaves and pick out particular passages that they would manipulate to support their views. For centuries, slave owners have looked for way to justify the need for slaves and a way to manipulate slaves into believing that slavery was their true calling. They would use Bible stories such as the Curse of Ham as well as the Mark of Cain in reference to African Americans to legitimize slavery to their slaves. Slaves often spoke on this in their narratives of the time as slaves. Harriet Jacobs was another enslaved child that spoke on this misuse in her narrative “Incidents in The Life of a Slave Girl”, Jacobs spoke from a more domestic view of slavery. She often questioned religion for this very reason, how can something so cruel possibly be of God? Olaundah Equiano was different from Jacobs in the respect that he never doubted his own religion, simply believed that he worshipped a different Christianity than Whites did. Just as education is presented as a paradox in “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglas” so too is the issue of religion and Christianity. On the on...
In, conclusion the experiences of Equiano’s servitude in Africa differed from his experience in England. The African slave trade primarily was based upon providing jobs to families or punishment to real criminals. Many times the cruel example of being kidnapped from your village and forced into this way of life was also prevalent. This narrative contains the terrifying events of a young a child being held captive. The sources we have of the truth from this period of time are limited and hard to obtain. Servitude still exists to today in many parts of Africa and will remain a common part of their
Equiano starting out had caring captors, “[t]he people I was sold to used to carry me very often when I was tired either on their shoulders or on their backs” (Equiano 54). Equiano’s first master lost his wife and daughter causing the mental state to be off, so Equiano was sold. Luckily Equiano was able to see his sister once again, he felt the need to be there for her and try to aid the pain she was feeling. All slave masters admired Equiano and he was still live a fair well off life but, that would soon change when boards the slave ship. Equiano finally will see the true horrors of how slaves were treated, “...and I even wished for my former slavery in preference to my present situation” (Equiano