Repasos de Harold: The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano by Olaudah Equiano

About the Author

Olaudah Equiano was a soldier, sailor, and North Pole explorer who lived in the mid-late 1700s.
He was the son of a chief in the Ibo culture of present-day Nigeria.
When he was 11, he was captured and sold as a slave to African masters. Soon, he embarked on the painful journey of slaves to America, known as 'the Middle Passage.'
He was sold to British navy officer Michael Pascal, who gave him a new name: "Gustavus Vassa."

Slave owners often renamed their slaves because names were an important part of identity.

In the New World, slaves were most often used in sugar cane and cotton plantations.
He fought for Britain so that he would be freed, but he was sold again in 1762 to Quaker merchant Robert King, who trained him in business.

After 21 years, he bought his freedom and moved to London, where he launched his business career.

He became a sailor and did expeditions to find a northwest passage, traveling to Central America and Turkey.
Back in London, he became Christian and got involved in antislavery efforts. He wrote his narrative to expose the cruelty of slave trade, and it made him a public figure.
Some historians, due to certain documents that show his birthplace to be South Carolina, question whether Equiano really went through the Middle Passage. However, even if his narrative isn't based on his life, it's surely based on what other slaves told him and is still a valid source.
He died a wealthy man after marrying an English woman and raising two daughters.
The genre of the story is slave narrative.

Summary

Olaudah Equiano is the narrator of the story. He and his sister were kidnapped when Equiano was 11 years old. He was separated from his sister and sold in various African countries.
Equiano saw the sea and the slave ship and felt astonishment and terror. He thought he'd gotten into a world of bad spirits that would kill them.

The people who handled him were of a different complexion (lighter skin), had long hair, and spoke a different language.

Equiano says he would've "exchanged his condition with that of the meanest slave" in his own country.

This is because the poorest or most wretched slave in the African country from which he came for was better of than him with those people.

He saw black people chained together, their countenances expressing dejection and sorrow.
Overcome with horror and anguish, he fainted. The black men that sold him woke him up. He asked them if the white men would eat him, but they said no. The men brought him liquor, which threw him into dismay because it produced a strange feeling.

Equiano reiterates how he would prefer his former slavery to the present in the boat.
When he was taken below the deck, it smelled very bad. He refused to eat and was flogged (whipped).

He found some people from his nation, and this gave him peace. They told him they would work in the white people's countries.

Equiano was relieved but still feared he'd be killed because the whites acted like savages.

The whites were even cruel with other whites, as Equiano recalls he once saw a white man flogged so severely that he died. They tossed the dead to the water.
Equiano asked his fellow countrymen some questions: Did the whites have a country or live in the ship? How come we never heard of them? Do they have any women, where? How does the vessel go?

They told him they did have a country, but it was very far so they didn't hear of it. They had women but left them behind in their country. The other men weren't sure of how the vessel moved, but knew it was due to a cloth held by ropes.
Equiano was shocked when the ship stopped, as he thought it was magic. He thought they were spirits and wanted them to sacrifice him so he could become one of them.

Now that all the slaves were below deck, it was pestilential (toxic smell). The air was unfit for respiration. Many slaves became sick and died.

It was horrible, women shrieked and the dying groaned.
Equiano was kept on deck most of the time so he could breathe fresh air because he was so young. He felt sad for his companions and wanted to die.

One day, the white men caught a ton of fish and ate some. They threw the ones that were left back to the water instead of giving them to the slaves.

The slaves expected this, and begged. Some of his countrymen tried to sneak some fish but were flogged.

Another day, when the sea was smooth, two of Equiano's countrymen who were chained together went over the netting and jumped to the sea (suicide). Another ill man also jumped, but the crew saw them and put a stop to any more men jumping.
The slaves were sold at Barbados. The usual way of selling was at a slave merchant's yard. Slaves were sold as groups called 'parcels.'

Upon a signal (like a drum), the buyers would rush to the merchant's yard and pick a parcel they liked best. There was a lot of noise and clamor, which made the slaves more apprehensive.
Families and friends were separated as different people bought them. On Equiano's ship, there were several brothers who were sold on different lots and would never see each other again.

Equiano calls the white men "nominal Christians" because they're religious by name but not in reality. God says "Do unto all men as you would men should do unto you," but the white men treated the slaves with cruelty. They can't even let brothers stay together.

domingo, 14 de octubre de 2018