‘The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah

Equiano’ 1789

The slave trade started in the 16th century and carried on right through to the 19th century.

Olaudah Equiano was an African slave from south Nigeria who travelled to the West Indies and around the world working for a Royal Navy

officer, during which time he was taught to read and write.

Whilst working he earned money by trading on the side, and in only three years he had made

enough money to buy his own freedom. After buying his freedom, he became a prominent

Anti-slavery campaigner.

In 1786 in London, he became involved in the movement to abolish slavery.

In 1789 he published his autobiography. He travelled widely promoting the book, which

became immensely popular, helped the abolitionist cause, and made him a very

wealthy man. It is one of the earliest books published by a black African writer.

I was not long ſuffered to indulge my grief; I was ſoon put down under the decks, and

there I received ſuch a ſalutation in my noſtrils as I had never experienced in my life:

ſo that, with the loathſomeneſs of the french, and crying together, I became ſo ſick

and low that I was not able to eat, nor had I the leaſt deſire to taſte any thing. I know wiſhed for the laſt friend, death, to relieve me; but ſoon, to my grief to of the white men

offered me eatables; and, on my refuſing to eat, one of them held me faſt by the hands, and

laid me acroſs I think the windlaſs, and tied my feet, while the other flogged me feverly. I had never experienced any thing of this kind before; and although, not being uſed to the

water, I naturally feared that element the firſt time I ſaw it, yet nevertheleſs, could I have got over the nettings, I would have jumped over the ſide, but I could not; and, beſides, the crew

uſed to watch us very cloſely who were not chained down to the decks, left we ſhould leap into

the water: and I have ſeen ſome of theſe poor African priſoners moſt feverly cut for attempting to do ſo, and hourly whipped for not eating. This indeeed was often the caſe with myſelf. In a little time after, amongſt the poor chained men, I found ſome of my own nation,

which in a ſmall degree gave caſe to my mind. I inquired of theſe what was to be done with us; they gave me to underſtand we were to be carried to theſe white people’s country to work for them. I then was a little revied, and thought, if it were no worſe than working, my ſituation was not ſo deſperate: but ſtill I feared I ſhould be put to death, the white people looked and acted, as I thought, in ſo ſavage a manor; for I have never ſeen among any people ſuch inſtances of

brutal cruelty; and this not only ſhewn towards us blacks, but alſo to ſome of the whites themſelves. One white man in particular I ſaw, when we were permitted to be on deck, flogged ſo unmercifully with a large rope near the foremaſt, that he died in conſequence of it; and they toſſed him over the ſide as they would have done a brute. This made me fear theſe people the

more; and I expected nothing leſs than to be treated in the ſame manor.

Loathsomeness – A feeling of loathing, disgust, or repugnance(1425 – 1808)

Eatables - That which may be eaten; an article of food (1483 – 1979)

Both of these words are not commonly used even in the 18th century suggesting that perhaps oluadah’s english wasn’t perfect, considering it would have been his second language he may not know that these words were not often used by English speaking people.

Windlass - A mechanical contrivance working on the principle of the wheel and axle, on a horizontal axis(1400 – 1836)

- this is Jargon showing that everyone knew a lot of what we would call techinal knowledge now, because ships and sailing were the most common form of international transport.

Words No Longer Used

Long ‘S’

ſaluation Acroſsſhould Theſeſavage Priſonersſeverely Conſequenceſaw Inſtances

The long S is very common in this text. It was used from ….. At the start and in the middle of words but never at the end. It appeared at the end of each component of a compound word. For example loathSomeneSs

The Long S

Adverb comes before verb- ‘I then was a little relieved’

We would say now ‘I was then a little relieved’

Sentences are very complex – connected by colons and semi colons very rarely have a full stop. One sentences in this text had 98 words, 9 commas, 3 semi colons and 1 colon.

Passive sentences are common such as “I was soon put down under the decks” whereas now we prefer active sentences “the officers locked me under the decks.”

Grammar

“I was not long suffered to indulge my grief” Suffered as this 18th century lexis comes from

the bible and means ‘allowed’ This is a lexical change.

We use the word ‘suffered’ as a word of unhappiness and don’t tend to use it in its old

meaning ‘allowed’

Lexis