African & European Slave Trade

In Oluadah Equiano's The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Oluadah Equiano, we are provided with a unique view of the African and European slave trade from the perspective of a merchant who was once a slave. Equiano relates the story of his kidnapping, of being stolen from his home, and sold into slavery. During this time, Equiano experienced a breadth of cultures and places that few even today achieve. A product of its time, we must remember Equiano's account occurs during a time when the world accepted, condoned, and supported the political, economic and social realties of slavery. This makes Equiano's narrative more significant. It is not the typical slave narrative. Rather, his life began and ended while slavery was a real political, economic and social reality. Equiano's main thesis appears to be that whether one supported or opposed slavery in his time does not indicate evil or goodness respectively. Instead, it simply reflects the fact that individuals of the era were not more capable of viewing their world without slavery than we are capable of viewing ours without technology.

In providing us with a firsthand account of his life as a slave and his travels as a merchant, Equiano provides us with a methodology that includes reproduction of conversations, experiences, and events that actually occurred and he engaged in or witnessed. Oral history as well as comparative analysis is also used to convey unique information

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ulture was able to acquire to tools or goods it required or desired. As Equiano (p. 38) relates, "These [markets] are sometimes visited by stout mahogany-colored men from the south-west of us: we call them Oye-Eboe, which term signifies the red men living at a distance. They generally bring us fire-arms, gun-powder, hats, breads, and dried fish." The main sympathies of the author appear to be with his own people; those he feels are exploited by European-supplied merchants, the slave trade, and the ample supply of weapons of violence that he sees as increasing the bloodshed among indigenous neighbors. Equiano views his people as living in a virtual theatre of war, one in which their arms accompany them at all times during their daily tasks. In Equiano's village, no matter what their gender, age or state of health, all individuals are prepared for military combat at an early age. However, the arms of others that threaten them and the arms by which they hope to protect themselves are those supplied via European lines of trade, "We have fire-arms, bows and arrows, broad two-edged swords and javelins; we have shields also which cover a man from head to foot. All are taught the use of these weapons; even our women are warriors," (

Category: History - A