The modern era stands out as a time of great change. Throughout history, it is undoubtedly the period of time in which the most advancement has occurred in society, in the shortest amount of time. The three books, "The Interesting Narrative," by Olaudah Equiano, "Victors and Vanquished," by Stuart B. Schwartz, and "A Social Contract," by Jean-Jeacques Rousseau, each provide a view of the modern era in their own individual ways. Olaudah Equiano's account of his life as a slave is directed at the problem of slavery. Stuart B. Schwartz' "Victors and Vanquished," provides a collection of personal accounts about the conquest of Mexico under the command of Hernando Cortes. Lastly, Rousseau's, "A Social Contract," expounds upon the problems that occur in modern government, and preaches that a more "natural" form of government would better suit society's needs. All of these accounts of the modern era show how the writers personally perceived the events that were occurring around them. These occurrences did not embody the change that occurred in the modern era as a whole, but rather were the individual occurrences that illuminated their views on the change that
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either was occurring, or needed to occur.
In Olaudah Equiano's autobiography, "The Interesting Narrative," the author gives an account of his life as a slave taken from Africa by European slave-traders, and the horrors that accompanied the life of a slave at the time. The conditions of slave-trading were not known to the general public, because of the fact that they were not involved in slave trading. This all changed when Olaudah wrote his narrative and published it in 1789. After it's publishing, "The Interesting Narrative" gave an opinion to those who didn't...
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... give their own distinct view of what was happening in the modern world. Olaudah Equiano relates his account of being enslaved and urges the public to condemn it. The Nahua relate their feelings of destruction at the hands of Spanish Conquistadors, while the Spaniards relate stories of positive growth and wealth to be had. Jean-Jacques Rousseau, expounds upon the nature of society, and how governments fail to aid the people, who should be the most important aspect of government.
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Sources
Equiano, Olaudah. 1745. The Interesting Narrative and Other Writings. New York: Penguin Group.
Schwartz, Stuart B. 2000. Victors and Vanquished: Spanish and Nahua Views of the Conquest of Mexico. New York: Bedford/St. Martin's.
3) Rousseau, Jean-Jacques. 1762. The Social Contract.
Translated, 1968 by Maurice Cranston. London:
Penguin Books.
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 ...
Olaudah Equiano was a freed slave living in London who made it his life person to abolish the British slave trade. His knowledge and training of the English language allowed him to grow into one of the key figures in the movement to abolish the slave trade in England. Although many scholars acknowledge his incredible talent, there has been evidence in the recent years that may question his reliability as a first-hand account. There is evidence to support that Equiano may have been born in South Carolina. This evidence does not make him a valid source of information about the slave trade and leads his audience to question his statements.
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.
Another way the author supports his thesis are his descriptions of the reactions made by the Europeans who arrived at the immense and powerful society that already existed in the Americas. A distinct example is portrayed when describing the Spaniards arrival in Tenochtitlan: “Tenochtitlan dazzled its invaders-it was bigger than Paris, Europe’s greatest metropolis. The Spaniards gawped like yokels at the wide streets, ornately carved buildings, and markets bright with goods from hundreds
The autobiography of Olaudah Equiano, first published in 1789, is the first example of a slave narrative. Unlike most of the class, I took it upon myself to read the entire story of Equiano’s Travels, abridged and edited by Paul Edwards. In that version, as in the version represented in The Norton Anthology American Literature Shorter Fifth Edition, the journey of Olaudah Equiano is expressed in his own words, from his own point of view. That makes this writing a truly unique piece of literature. It is not only the first slave narrative but also one of the only ones written pre-civil war by a former slave, and someone seized from Africa. These facts give the writing a unique feel, for it is the words of a man that was born a free man, raised to be a ruler of his tribe, kidnapped and made into a slave as a young child, and then journeying through life to become once again free as a mature adult. Equiano experienced almost all parts of a slave’s existence. He was a slave throughout Africa, England, and the New World.
It has been suggested that Olaudah Equiano lied about his birthplace in his The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavas Vassa, the African. The question of Olaudah Equiano’s birth place, whether it be modern day Nigeria or South Carolina, has little effect on the historical significance of his “autobiography.” In this essay I will discuss the reasons scholars are questioning the authenticity of his works, the affect his work played in the slave trade, and the impact this accusation has on his life’s work.
The framework for this novel was placed by Ellis around the pivotal figures of the American Revolution, dubbed the revolutionary generation. He begins in the prologue by disclaiming to the reader that the events discussed in this novel should be interpreted in hindsight, as well as foresight, claiming that the topics discussed may be factual, but also misconstrued in different ways. It seems that the main idea of this novel is that, while being essentially accurate, the topics discussed may be representative of given individuals’ personal recollection. It will bring to light the different ideas of the founding brothers, as the novel calls them, and compare and contrast them in a non-biased manner.
Slavery was a practice throughout the American colonies in the 17th and 18th centuries, and through slavery, African-American slaves helped build the economic foundation of which America stands upon today, but this development only occurred with the sacrifice of the blood, sweat, and tears from the slaves that had been pushed into exhaustion by the slave masters. A narrative noting a lifetime of this history was the book The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, Or Gustavus Vassa, The African written by Olaudah Equiano. Equiano was a prominent African involved in the British movement for the abolition of the slave trade. He was captured and enslaved as a child in his home town of Essaka in what is now known as south eastern Nigeria, later he was shipped to the West Indies, he then moved to England, and eventually purchased his freedom (Equiano). Olaudah Equiano, with many other millions of slaves, faced many hardships and was treated with inconceivable injustices by white slave masters and because of the severity of these cruel and barbarous occurrences, history will never forget these events.
This 18th century philosopher wrote three books but the most important of the three was the Social Contract. This greatly influenced the constitution and also many other things as well. He encouraged the minds of citizens who believe that they should deserve more freedom and more say in what the government decides. Now, every vote counts for every person no matter age, class, how intelligent they are, or their looks. In his book, he stresses constantly the different types of freedom there are, natural, civil, and moral. Natural freedom is being able to do whatever one wants. Civil freedom is in agreement with The Social Contract in which has to obey the laws the Rousseau helped make in the Constitution. Moral freedom is doing the right thing and not whatever you want. Rousseau thought that civil freedom was th...
The Aztec Empire was the largest civilization of the Americas in the early 16th century until Spanish conquistadors arrived in the New World. A motley crew of men from Spain, they were led by Hernan Cortes who intended to expand lands for the Spanish monarch and through many factors he was able to do just that. The three main factors that contributed to the fall of Tenochtitlan by the hands of Spanish conquistadors were significance of native allies, difference in battle tactics among the natives and conquistadors, and widespread disease. Another chapter in the Spanish colonization of the Americas, this one stands out in particular due to its unorthodox sequence of events that led a small group of men to defeating an entire empire in a few short years.
Both, “The Interesting Narrative Life of Olaudah Equiano” and “Amistad” are important stories about slavery in pre-civil war america because they both address the issues of slavery. These gentlemen in the story made a difference in the slave trade. In “The life of Olaudah Equiano”, Olaudah was sold on a slave ship that came to the Barbados. Olaudah worked for his freedom, and in the end became efficient in American language. He worked his way to the free life and in the end it worked out for him, although it leaves scars on his soul. In “Amistad”, Cinque is a slave that leads a revolt on a slave ship after escaping. When they get to america, Baldwin, a lawyer that is representing the slave and the former president Adams helps free the slaves.
"The Life of Olaudah Equiano” is a captivating story in which Equiano, the author, reflects on his life from becoming a slave to a freeman during the 19th century. Through his experiences and writing, Equiano paints a vivid picture of the atrocities and cruelties of European slavery. Ultimately through his narrative, Equiano intends to persuade his audience, the British government, to abolish the Atlantic slave trade as well as alert them of the harsh treatment of slaves. He successfully accomplishes his goal by subtly making arguments through the use of character, action, and setting.
In Equiano 's personal slave narrative, The Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African, Equiano uses distinguishing first person pronouns, thought provoking rhetorical questions, and eye-opening, harsh diction to flip the idea that the African people act backwards and barbaric. Equiano does so by demonstrating his personal exceptionalism through his literacy to show that truly the white people remain backwards and barbaric because of their hypocrisy. The contradiction of the perceptions of white and African people that Equiano demonstrates in his slave narrative shows that the savagery of African people is a misconception. The misconception of the perceptions of the African people makes the reader fully grasp the need to abolish
...er the revolution, the mentality of the people of San Domingo was foreover changed. Slavery would never be accepted again by the inhabitants. "Any regime which tolerated such practices was doomed, for the revolution had created a new race of men" (242). This new race of men were aware of their self-importance. "There was no need to be ashamed of being a black. The revolution had awakened them, had given them the possibility of achievement, confidence and pride. That psychological weakness, that feeling of inferiority with which the imperialists poison colonial peoples everywhere, these were gone" (244).
Throughout history, literary works written by revolutionary people can profoundly impact the world around them. One example of a literary work that profoundly impacted a nation was Charles-Louis de Secondat, Baron de La Bréde et de Montesquieu’s The Spirit of the Laws. Although this was a