Olaudah Equiano

Olaudah Equiano is the author of the Interesting Narrative. He is given the name Gustavus Vassa by a master, and it is by this name that he is known to his contemporaries. He is born in the African province of Eboe and taken away as a slave when still a child. He experiences much hardship in his long slavery, witnessing the massacre and mutilation of many slaves and suffering some beatings and verbal abuse himself, though he is usually "blessed" with kinder masters than most slaves.

Equiano's singular focus during slavery is to become a free man. In pursuit of this goal he develops a shrewd business acumen, selling and trading goods while on various trading voyages for his master. He is also constantly trying to better himself, learning skills like English, reading, and arithmetic in a time when Africans are discouraged from such pursuits. He also...