Chapter 5 Summary and Analysis

Equiano laments his "new slavery" and prays to God for some sort of salvation. After some time, he ascribes his new unfortunate circumstances to a test given him by God. His new master soon sets sail for the island of Montserrat, a place which has a reputation for slave auctions. Equiano is greeted with the new horror that he might be sold at auction. After months of hard labor involving loading and unloading ships, one day Equiano is sold, from Captain Doran to a man named Robert King, despite Equiano begging to be taken back to England. The small comfort is that Robert King is known as a kind and good man. King promises to take Equiano eventually back to Philadelphia (where King lives) and, because Equiano knows some arithmetic, make a clerk of him.

For the time being, Equiano works...