Olaudah Equiano

1740s-1797 abolitionist and writer

Olaudah Equiano (c. 1745 – 31 March 1797)[1] also known as Gustavus Vassa or Graves, was an important African involved in the British movement for the abolition of the slave trade. He was made a slave when he was a child but was later able to buy his freedom. He worked as an author, merchant, and explorer in South America, the Caribbean, the Arctic, the American colonies, and the United Kingdom, where he settled by 1792. In his autobiography, The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, he wrote about the horrors of slavery. This influenced the passing of the Slave Trade Act of 1807.[2]

Olaudah Equiano
Born1745
Essaka, Benin Empire (claimed)
Died31 March 1797 (aged 51-52)
Westminster, London
Other namesGustavus Vassa, Graves
Occupation(s)Explorer, writer, merchant, slave, abolitionist
Known forInfluence over British abolitionists; his autobiography
SpouseSusannah Cullen
ChildrenJoanna Vassa and Anna Maria Vassa

References

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  1. "Olaudah Equiano (c. 1745 - 31 March 1797)". BBC History.
  2. Equiano, Olaudah (1999). The Life of Olaudah Equiano, or, Gustavus Vassa, the African. Mineola, N.Y.: Dover Publications. ISBN 0-486-40661-X.