Olaudah Equiano Flashcards
1
Q
Ca. 1745
A
born either in Essaka (Ibo village in modern-day Nigeria) or South Carolina
2
Q
1756
A
sold to British slavers and transported to Barbados (West Indies) then to plantation in Virginia
3
Q
1759
A
Baptismal record indicates Equiano is born in South Carolina
4
Q
1766
A
purchases freedom for 40 pounds
5
Q
1770s-80s
A
works in London as a free servant, musician, barber, and eventual seaman
- travels to Turkey, Rome, Jamaica, Honduras, and Nicaragua
6
Q
1773
A
Arctic voyage paperwork and ship log indicate Equiano born in South Carolina
7
Q
1789
A
publishes The Interesting Narrative (10 editions b/twn 1789-1796)
8
Q
1792
A
marries Susanna Cullen
9
Q
1797
A
dies of uncertain causes
10
Q
slave narrative
A
- literary genre written to encourage opposition to slavery by exposing its barbarity
- descended from autobiographical tradition of life writing (Equiano’s spiritual autobiography; conversion narratives; criminal and convict literature)
- highly formulaic mold that transforms past experience into highly performative act of contemporary (typically white) audience
11
Q
typical convention of slave narrative
A
- portrait frontispiece (of author)
- title that identifies author (“Written by Himself”)
- prefaces that corroborate authorship, typically written by white abolitionists or publishers
- poetic epigraph
- description of escape attempt (to varying degrees of specificity)
- account of adjustment to life outside of slavery
- reflections of slavery and abolition
- appendix of documentary evidence that corroborates the narrative (bills of sale, newspaper items, sermons, poems, advertisements)
12
Q
more on The Narrative
A
- Narrative published by subscription: buyers committed to purchasing the book prior to publication (partial payment given in advance)
- every edition of Narrative added more subscribers to the list
- 1st edition (1789): 311
- 9th edition (1794): 894
- subscription list features prominent members of British, Irish, and Scottish society => eventually becomes a petition to the House of Parliament
13
Q
1807
A
purchase and exchange of people of African descent made illegal across British empire
14
Q
1833
A
slavery outlawed entirely
15
Q
In frontispiece, Equiano reads Acts 4:12
A
Neither is there salvation in any other:
for there is none other name under
heaven given among men, whereby we
must be saved
- drawing trajectory to contemporary slavery abolition cause to bible
- appropriates Christianity to slavery => should be anti-slavery
16
Q
Equiano
A
- a hybrid figure forged in the Black Atlantic
- neither African (doesn’t live in Africa) nor English (not born in England) but belongs to the transatlantic British Empire
- Equiano appeals to audiences’ sympathy
- like Wollstonecraft, Equiano appeals to the notion of universal human rights that transcend race and gender
- sensibility and fellow feeling link together abolitionists, the enslaved, accomplices in the slave trade, and lay audiences
- London influences African writers during this time period
- sensibility and sympathy enable people to address wrongs and work towards more just society
17
Q
Appealing to sympathy
A
Under this appeal, I now offer this edition
of my Narrative to the candid reader, and
to the friends of humanity, hoping it may
still be the means, in its measure, of
showing the enormous cruelties practised
on my sable brethren, and strengthening
the generous emulation now prevailing in
this country, to put a speedy end to a
traffic both cruel and unjust
18
Q
White enslavers’ failure to sympathy
A
I remember in the vessel in which I was
brought over, in the men’s apartment,
there were several brothers, who, in the
sale, were sold in different lots; and it was
very moving on this occasion to see and
hear their cries at parting. O, ye nominal
Christians! might not an African ask you,
learned you this from your God, who says
unto you, Do unto all men as you would
men should do unto you? Is it not enough
that we are torn from our country and
friends to toil for your luxury and lust of
gain? Must every tender feeling be likewise
sacrificed to your avarice?
19
Q
analysis
A
- “nominal” = rarely
- normal Christian = doesn’t really practice what they preach
- calling out hypocrisy of white Christians
- sacrificing the emotions of African slaves for white comfort
20
Q
White enslavers’ failure to sympathy
A
Are the dearest friends and relations, now
rendered more dear by their separation
from their kindred, still to be parted from
each other, and thus prevented from
cheering the gloom of slavery with the
small comfort of being together and
mingling their sufferings and sorrows? Why
are parents to lose their children, brothers
their sisters, or husbands their wives?
Surely this is a new refinement in cruelty,
which, while it has no advantage to atone
for it, thus aggravates distress, and adds
fresh horrors even to the wretchedness of
slavery
- emotional pain of slavery as more important as physicality of slavery
21
Q
biopolitics
A
- state’s regulation over the biological processes (life, death) of its population
- involves the administration and regulation of a population
- theorized by Michael Foucault in “Society must be defended” (1976)
- how our biological events are governed by rule
- ex: covid vaccine distributed => certain hierarchy to see who gets it first
- racism, specifically, is the state-sanctioned or extralegal production and exploitation of group
- differentiated vulnerability to premature death from Ruth Wilson Gilmore
22
Q
The horrors of the slave ship
A
At last, when the ship we were in had got in all
her cargo, they made ready with many fearful
noises, and we were all put under deck, so that
we could not see how they managed the vessel.
But this disappointment was the least of my
sorrow. The stench of the hold while we were
on the coast was so intolerably loathsome, that
it was dangerous to remain there for any time,
and some of us had been permitted to stay on
the deck for the fresh air; but now that the
whole ship’s cargo were confined together, it
became absolutely pestilential. The closeness
of the place, and the heat of the climate, added
to the number in the ship, which was so
crowded that each had scarcely room to turn
himself, almost suffocated us.
This produced copious perspirations, so that
the air soon became unfit for respiration, from
a variety of loathsome smells, and brought on a
sickness among the slaves, of which many died,
thus falling victims to the improvident avarice,
as I may call it, of their purchasers. This
wretched situation was again aggravated by the
galling of the chains, now become
insupportable; and the filth of the necessary
tubs, into which the children often fell, and
were almost suffocated. The shrieks of the
women, and the groans of the dying, rendered
the whole a scene of horror almost
inconceivable.
Happily perhaps for myself I was soon reduced
so low here that it was thought necessary to
keep me almost always on deck; and from my
extreme youth I was not put in fetters. In this
situation I expected every hour to share the
fate of my companions, some of whom were
almost daily brought upon deck at the point of
death, which I began to hope would soon put
an end to my miseries. Often did I think many
of the inhabitants of the deep much more
happy than myself. I envied them the freedom
they enjoyed, and as often wished I could
change my condition for theirs. Every
circumstance I met with served only to render
my state more painful, and heighten my
apprehensions, and my opinion of the cruelty
of the whites
23
Q
analysis
A
- yearning for death
- from the beginning he’s introduced to institution of slavery, he realizes not everyone aboard the ship has the same vulnerability of risk (whites aren’t at risk)
- premature death created by structural racism
24
Q
Cannibalism and consumption
A
While I was in this situation one evening they
caught, with a good deal of trouble, a large
shark, and got it on board. This gladdened my
poor heart exceedingly, as I thought it would
serve the people to eat instead of their eating
me; but very soon, to my astonishment, they
cut off a small part of the tail, and tossed the
rest over the side. This renewed my
consternation; and I did not know what to think
of these white people, though I very much
feared they would kill and eat me
- internalizing idea of consumption
- in world ofpolitical control => no difference b/twn shark and slave
- only wanted small part of shark’s tail & wasted rest of the body => like slavery w/ human beings
- in world ofpolitical control => no difference b/twn shark and slave
25
noticing the clock
While he was fast asleep I indulged myself a great
deal in looking about the room, which to me
appeared very fine and curious. The first object that
engaged my attention was a watch which hung on
the chimney, and was going. I was quite surprised at
the noise it made, and was afraid it would tell the
gentleman any thing I might do amiss: and when I
immediately after observed a picture hanging in the
room, which appeared constantly to look at me, I
was still more affrighted, having never seen such
things as these before. At one time I thought it was
something relative to magic; and not seeing it move I
thought it might be some way the whites had to
keep their great men when they died, and offer
them libation as we used to do to our friendly spirits.
In this state of anxiety I remained till my master
awoke, when I was dismissed out of the room, to my
no small satisfaction and relief; for I thought that
these people were all made up of wonders.
26
Spiritual autobiography
- a genre of memoir that depicts a writer's mental crisis, conversion, and recovery
- Christian belief saves the writer from a life of sin, guilt, and other turmoil
- religious vocation involves evangelizing and spreading the gospel through print culture
- providence leads you through suffering to a larger epiphany - part of God's plan
- highly popular, influential genre of writing during the 17th & 18th c.
- Equiano appeals to his audiences' Christian faith as a mode of relation
- believes that everyone should be a Christian
- trying to imagine Christianity as a multi-racial community & also people of African descent should be forced to convert
- believed God has plan for all of us & we learn things from suffering => toughens us up, and strengthens resolve to know god
- readers of autobiography can also save themselves
27
more on spiritual autobiography
- resists national and ratial identification for a broader Angelican/Protestant/Christian community
- autobiography serves as an act of self-fashioning (Benjamin Franklin, Jean-Jacques Rousseau)
- Narrative reconciles Equiano's two selves: the former African child and current English man; he writes from the perspective of both and thus shows how both identities are co-constitutive
28
The values of spiritual autobiography
People generally think those memoirs only worthy to
be read or remembered which abound in great or
striking events, those, in short, which in a high
degree excite either admiration or pity: all others
they consign to contempt and oblivion. It is
therefore, I confess, not a little hazardous in a
private and obscure individual, and a stranger too,
thus to solicit the indulgent attention of the public;
especially when I own I offer here the history of
neither a saint, a hero, nor a tyrant. I believe there
are few events in my life, which have not happened
to many: it is true the incidents of it are numerous;
and, did I consider myself an European, I might say
my sufferings were great: but when I compare my lot
with that of most of my countrymen, I regard myself
as a particular favourite of Heaven, and acknowledge
the mercies of Providence in every occurrence of my
life.
29
analysis
- one of the reasons he survives b/c of mercy of providence
- larger, spiritual design that organizes his life
30
From barbarism to refinement
These instances, and a great many more which
might be adduced, while they shew how the
complexions of the same persons vary in
different climates, it is hoped may tend also to
remove the prejudice that some conceive
against the natives of Africa on account of their
colour. Surely the minds of the Spaniards did
not change with their complexions! Are there
not causes enough to which the apparent
inferiority of an African may be ascribed,
without limiting the goodness of God, and
supposing he forbore to stamp understanding
on certainly his own image, because "carved in
ebony." Might it not naturally be ascribed to
their situation? When they come among
Europeans, they are ignorant of their language,
religion, manners, and customs. Are any pains
taken to teach them these? Are they treated as
men? Does not slavery itself depress the mind,
and extinguish all its fire and every noble
sentiment?
31
analysis
- in cultural attitudes of 18th c. it's a self fulfilling prophecy
- in cult of sensibility, child slavery as institution prevents people from being sensible
- people who are denied human rights => what's projected onto people from the outside
- at epicenter of enlightenment => production of philosophy (what society should aspire to)
- mapping out relationships
- whites use it to define orientalism
- Equiano sees himself as evidence that people can be refined
- giving evidence that anyone can become a member of civilized society
- using his position to advocate to becoming more civilized
32
From barbarism to refinement
But, above all, what advantages do not a
refined people possess over those who are
rude and uncultivated. Let the polished and
haughty European recollect that his ancestors
were once, like the Africans, uncivilized, and
even barbarous. Did Nature make them inferior
to their sons? and should they too have been
made slaves? Every rational mind answers, No.
Let such reflections as these melt the pride of
their superiority into sympathy for the wants
and miseries of their sable brethren, and
compel them to acknowledge, that
understanding is not confined to feature or
colour. If, when they look round the world, they
feel exultation, let it be tempered with
benevolence to others, and gratitude to God,
"who hath made of one blood all nations of
men for to dwell on all the face of the earth;
and whose wisdom is not our wisdom, neither
are our ways his ways.
33
analysis
- drawing comparison between ancestors of Europe and Africa
- these are necessary steps in progress of human society => links together different races
- in the bible, is evidence for post-racial society
- martialing Christian value to abolish slavery
- hypocrisy involved in those that are Christian => Equiano relates it to British Empire
34
Almost an englishman
It was now between two and three years since I
first came to England, a great part of which I
had spent at sea; so that I became inured to
that service, and began to consider myself as
happily situated; for my master treated me
always extremely well; and my attachment and
gratitude to him were very great. From the
various scenes I had beheld on shipboard, I
soon grew a stranger to terror of every kind,
and was, in that respect at least, almost an
Englishman. I have often reflected with surprise
that I never felt half the alarm at any of the
numerous dangers I have been in, that I was
filled with at the first sight of the Europeans,
and at every act of theirs, even the most
trifling, when I first came among them, and for
some time afterwards. That fear, however,
which was the effect of my ignorance, wore
away as I began to know them.
I could now speak English tolerably well, and I
perfectly understood every thing that was said.
I now not only felt myself quite easy with these
new countrymen, but relished their society and
manners. I no longer looked upon them as
spirits, but as men superior to us; and therefore
I had the stronger desire to resemble them; to
imbibe their spirit, and imitate their manners; I
therefore embraced every occasion of
improvement; and every new thing that I
observed I treasured up in my memory. I had
long wished to be able to read and write; and
for this purpose I took every opportunity to
gain instruction, but had made as yet very little
progress. However, when I went to London
with my master, I had soon an opportunity of
improving myself, which I gladly embraced.
Shortly after my arrival, he sent me to wait
upon the Miss Guerins, who had treated me
with much kindness when I was there before;
and they sent me to school.
35
analysis
- begin to assimilate to British english society
- almost treated as a child in some way (has guardians)
- mirroring them in some way
- begins to act and look like an English person
36
slavery and failure of sympathy
Such a tendency has the slavetrade to debauch
men's minds, and harden them to every feeling of
humanity! For I will not suppose that the dealers in
slaves are born worse than other men—No; it is the
fatality of this mistaken avarice, that it corrupts the
milk of human kindness and turns it into gall. And,
had the pursuits of those men been different, they
might have been as generous, as tenderhearted and
just, as they are unfeeling, rapacious and cruel.
Surely this traffic cannot be good, which spreads like
a pestilence, and taints what it touches! which
violates that first natural right of mankind, equality
and independency, and gives one man a dominion
over his fellows which God could never intend! For it
raises the owner to a state as far above man as it
depresses the slave below it; and, with all the
presumption of human pride, sets a distinction
between them, immeasurable in extent, and endless
in duration!
37
analysis
- slavery violates natural rights, democracy
- ruins kindness, ruins potential for someone to be generous
- talking about white slavers
- addressing white audience
- critiquing that men are corrupted => turned evil by institution of slavery
- violates people enslaved as well as people doing the slaving
- can't profess to be a true Christian and be part of the institution
38
slavery and failure of sympathy
Yet how mistaken is the avarice even of the
planters? Are slaves more useful by being thus
humbled to the condition of brutes, than they would
be if suffered to enjoy the privileges of men? The
freedom which diffuses health and prosperity
throughout Britain answers you—No. When you
make men slaves you deprive them of half their
virtue, you set them in your own conduct an
example of fraud, rapine, and cruelty, and compel
them to live with you in a state of war; and yet you
complain that they are not honest or faithful! You
stupify them with stripes, and think it necessary to
keep them in a state of ignorance; and yet you assert
that they are incapable of learning; that their minds
are such a barren soil or moor, that culture would be
lost on them; and that they come from a climate,
where nature, though prodigal of her bounties in a
degree unknown to yourselves, has left man alone
scant and unfinished, and incapable of enjoying the
treasures she has poured out for him!
39
analysis
- self-fulfilling prophecy
- type of subjugation impressed upon other people
- Equiano very attentive to how African people are monetized
- very attentive to how other communities are exposed to certain experiences
40
Commoditizing bodies
I have often seen slaves, particularly those who
were meagre, in different islands, put into
scales and weighed; and then sold from three
pence to six pence or nine pence a pound. My
master, however, whose humanity was
shocked at this mode, used to sell such by the
lump. And at or after a sale it was not
uncommon to see negroes taken from their
wives, wives taken from their husbands, and
children from their parents, and sent off to
other islands, and wherever else their merciless
lords chose; and probably never more during
life to see each other! Oftentimes my heart has
bled at these partings; when the friends of the
departed have been at the water side, and,
with sighs and tears, have kept their eyes fixed
on the vessel till it went out of sight.
41
analysis
- slavery incompatible w/ sensibility
- sensibility are associated w/ people of color instead of whites
42
The captain's death and Equiano's sensibility
When this dear friend found the symptoms of death
approaching, he called me by my name; and, when I
came to him, he asked (with almost his last breath) if
he had ever done me any harm? 'God forbid I should
think so,' I replied, 'I should then be the most
ungrateful of wretches to the best of sorrow by his
bedside, he expired without saying another word;
and the day following we committed his body to the
deep. Every man on board loved this man, and
regretted his death; but I was exceedingly affected
at it, and I found that I did not know, till he was
gone, the strength of my regard for him. Indeed I
had every reason in the world to be attached to him;
for, besides that he was in general mild, affable,
generous, faithful, benevolent, and just, he was to
me a friend and a father; and, had it pleased
Providence that he had died but five months before,
I verily believe I should not have obtained my
freedom when I did; and it is not improbable that I
might not have been able to get it at any rate
afterwards
43
analysis
- asserts on ability to feel
- indicates human feeling is part of universal human right
- can still feel moved for those that inflict pain on him
- many whites block that ability
44
slave trade
- majority happening b/twn America, Britain, West Indies, Africa
- as well as numerous crops
- taste of imported goods gave rise to sensibility
- slavery producing goods people use to appear refine
45
black atlantic
- theoretical framework for understanding the transcultural, transnational, hemispheric shaping of Black identity and culture from the slave trade onward
- developed by Paul Gilroy
- explores the intersections b/twn African, British, Caribbean, and Colonial/American traditions => nexus of different traditions, nationalities
46
picaresque
- episodic style of fiction in which frequent, short vignettes are tied together by a scrappy, dishonest, but appealing hero (or rogue)
- often from lower social classes
- hero usually must outwit his situation and scrapes by
- popular in 17th and 18th c. and contributed to the rise of the novel (Defoe, Richardson, Sterne)
- Equiano demonstrating ability to think on his feet
- age of piracy
47
Travel, maritime labor, and the promise of freedom
Every day now brought me nearer
my freedom, and I was impatient till
we proceeded again to sea, that I
might have an opportunity of getting
a sum large enough to purchase it
- ability to move around the world is tied to war
- a kind of freedom in working aboard the ship
48
Manumission and print
When I got to the office and acquainted
the Register with my errand he
congratulated me on the occasion, and
told me he would draw up my
manumission for half price, which was a
guinea. I thanked him for his kindness;
and, having received it and paid him, I
hastened to my master to get him to
sign it, that I might be fully released.
Accordingly he signed the manumission
that day, so that, before night, I who had
been a slave in the morning, trembling at
the will of another, was become my own
master, and completely free. I thought
this was the happiest day I had ever
experienced; and my joy was still
heightened by the blessings and prayers
of the sable race, particularly the aged,
to whom my heart had ever been
attached with reverence.
As the form of my manumission has
something peculiar in it, and expresses the
absolute power and dominion one man
claims over his fellow, I shall beg leave to
present it before my readers at full length:
Montserrat.—To all men unto whom these
presents shall come: I Robert King, of the
parish of St. Anthony in the said island,
merchant, send greeting: Know ye, that I the
aforesaid Robert King, for and in
consideration of the sum of seventy pounds
current money of the said island, to me in
hand paid, and to the intent that a negro
manslave, named Gustavus Vassa, shall and
may become free, have manumitted,
emancipated, enfranchised, and set free, and
by these presents do manumit, emancipate,
enfranchise, and set free, the aforesaid negro
manslave, named Gustavus Vassa, for ever,
hereby giving, granting, and releasing unto
him, the said Gustavus Vassa...
all right, title, dominion, sovereignty, and
property, which, as lord and master over the
aforesaid Gustavus Vassa, I had, or now I
have, or by any means whatsoever I may or
can hereafter possibly have over him the
aforesaid negro, for ever. In witness whereof
I the abovesaid Robert King have unto these
presents set my hand and seal, this tenth day
of July, in the year of our Lord one thousand
seven hundred and sixty-six.
ROBERT KING.
Signed, sealed, and delivered in the presence
of Terrylegay, Montserrat.
Registered the within manumission at full
length, this eleventh day of July, 1766, in
liber D.
TERRYLEGAY, Register.
49
analysis
- having to purchase own freedom reinforces slavery
- paying = perpetuating slavery b/c should already be free
- print culture and literacy is how he understands freedom
- historical archive occurring
50
Near greenland
On the 28th of June, being in lat. 78,
we made Greenland, where I was
surprised to see the sun did not set.
The weather now became extremely
cold; and as we sailed between north
and east, which was our course, we
saw many very high and curious
mountains of ice; and also a great
number of very large whales, which
used to come close to our ship, and
blow the water up to a very great
height in the air.
- part of colonial expedition of 18th c.
- spacial geography always expanding but to what?
51
Equiano ch 10-end
- Interesting Narrative a text interested in texts and rise of print culture during 18th c.
- literacy, writing, self-representation crucial to the liberal, sovereign subject
- the book (or codex) a privileged, valuable object associated w/ knowledge and power during the Enlightenment
- showing how race, nation, and empire converge
- in Black Atlantic, Equiano literal salary enables him to purchase his own freedom
- to purchase own freedom = perpetuates slave system b/c already free
- he has freedom to write, married white woman => rising stature
- rising celebrity status tied to print culture
- particular about inferences he makes => wants to show he knows Bible more
- understands himself as a modern Enlightenment subject
52
Equiano and the talking book
I had often seen my master and Dick employed
in reading; and I had a great curiosity to talk to
the books, as I thought they did; and so to learn
how all things had a beginning: for that purpose I
have often taken up a book, and have talked to
it, and then put my ears to it, when alone, in
hopes it would answer me; and I have been very
much concerned when I found it remained silent
53
analysis
how does he approach codex?
- tries to converse with it => doesn't say anything, book remains silent
- metaphor for relationship of black writers w/ print culture
- something incompatible of racial identity w/ print culture
- doesn't know how to engage a book
54
The talking book and African American literature - Henry Louis Gates Jr. "The Signifying Monkey"
The trope of the Talking Book is the urtrope of the Anglo
African tradition... In the slave narratives discussed in this
chapter, making the white written text speak with a black
voice is the initial mode of inscription of the metaphor of
the doublevoiced...The explication of the trope of the
Talking Book enables us to witness the extent of
intertextuality and presupposition at work in the first
discrete period in AfroAmerican literary history. But it
also reveals, rather surprisingly, that the curious tension
between the black vernacular and the literate white text,
between the spoken and the written word, between the
oral and the printed forms of literary discourse, has been
represented and thematized in black letters at least since
slaves and exslaves met the challenge of the
Enlightenment to their humanity by literally writing
themselves into being through carefully crafted
representations in language of the black self. Literacy, the
very literacy of the printed book, stood as the ultimate
parameter by which to measure the humanity of authors
struggling to define an African self in Western letters.
55
analysis
- in 18th c. a number of philosophers try to define what humanity is
- look to ability to read and write as chief indicator of liberal humanism => marker of humanity
- early writers have to assert ability of literacy
- Equiano's performance of himself is how he asserts his humanity in a time period where people are enslaved (where people have no humanity)
56
Henry Louis Gates Jr. "The Signifying Monkey"
It was to establish a collective black voice through the
sublime example of an individual text, and thereby to
register a black presence in letters, that most clearly
motivated black writers, from the Augustan Age to the
Harlem Renaissance. Voice and presence, silence and
absence, then, have been the resonating terms of a four
part homology in our literary tradition for well over two
hundred years. The trope of the Talking Book became the
first repeated and revised trope of the tradition, the first
trope to be Signified upon. The paradox of representing,
of containing somehow, the oral within the written,
precisely when oral black culture was transforming itself
into a written culture, proved to be of sufficient concern
for five of the earliest black autobiographers to repeat the
same figure of the Talking Book that fails to speak,
appropriating the figure accordingly with embellished
rhetorical differences
57
analysis
- in 17th & 18th c.: mostly in western Europe & north america
- most literary texts are recent
- a lot descended orally
- Equiano converts to Christianity, to British subject of empire, and literary in print culture
- understands new position as freedom tied to print => to assert identity in convergence in books
- reasserts humanity to the audience
58
Baptism and the book
While I was attending these ladies their servants told me I could
not go to Heaven unless I was baptized. This made me very
uneasy; for I had now some faint idea of a future state:
accordingly I communicated my anxiety to the eldest Miss
Guerin, with whom I was become a favourite, and pressed her to
have me baptized; when to my great joy she told me I should.
She had formerly asked my master to let me be baptized, but he
had refused; however she now insisted on it; and he being under
some obligation to her brother complied with her request; so I
was baptized in St. Margaret's church, Westminster, in February
1759, by my present name. The clergyman, at the same time,
gave me a book, called a Guide to the Indians, written by the
Bishop of Sodor and Man. On this occasion Miss Guerin did me
the honour to stand as godmother, and afterwards gave me a
treat. I used to attend these ladies about the town, in which
service I was extremely happy; as I had thus many opportunities
of seeing London, which I desired of all things
59
analysis
- heart of this is book given to him: A guide to the indians
- what might readers be learning about in a book like that?
- Indian short hand for natives => Europeans thought they were going to India
- forced conversion
- Christianity often viewed as apex of civilization, on thing to be safe => gives a structural relationship
- still superior to Indians b/c he's a new converted Christian
60
spiritual knowledge and instruction
My life and fortune have been extremely chequered,
and my adventures various. Even those I have related
are considerably abridged. If any incident in this little
work should appear uninteresting and trifling to most
readers, I can only say, as my excuse for mentioning
it, that almost every event of my life made an
impression on my mind and influenced my conduct. I
early accustomed myself to look for the hand of God
in the minutest occurrence, and to learn from it a
lesson of morality and religion; and in this light every
circumstance I have related was to me of
importance.
61
analysis
- there's something to be learn in his autobiography => significant enough for global audience
- how you interpret world is how you interpret text
- every event that happens to him, he looks for God => how he interprets world as literacy critic of his own life
- reflects and demonstrates larger providential design (what god planned for him)
- use sentiment to assert his identity/humanity
- Equiano has to remind his readers he can feel, or feel more
- slavery trains people to ignore sympathy and not to feel
62
Equiano's conversion
In the evening of the same day, as I was reading and
meditating on the fourth chapter of the Acts, twelfth
verse, under the solemn apprehensions of eternity,
and reflecting on my past actions, I began to think I
had lived a moral life, and that I had a proper ground
to believe I had an interest in the divine favour; but still
meditating on the subject, not knowing whether
salvation was to be had partly for our own good deeds,
or solely as the sovereign gift of God; in this deep
consternation the Lord was pleased to break in upon
my soul with his bright beams of heavenly light; and in
an instant as it were, removing the veil, and letting
light into a dark place, I saw clearly with the eye of
faith the crucified Saviour bleeding on the cross on
mount Calvary: the scriptures became an unsealed
book, I saw myself a condemned criminal under the
law, which came with its full force to my conscience,
and when 'the commandment came sin revived, and I
died,' I saw the Lord Jesus Christ in his humiliation,
loaded and bearing my reproach, sin, and shame.
63
analysis
how does he describe his epiphany/larger conversion?
- image of crucifixion of christ => sacrifice absolves humans of their sins
- "letting light into dark place" => illuminating
- imprisoned by shame, God opens light
- aligning Christianity w/ British Empire => saved by christ
64
Equiano's conversion
I then clearly perceived that by the deeds of the
law no flesh living could be justified. I was then
convinced that by the first Adam sin came, and by
the second Adam (the Lord Jesus Christ) all that
are saved must be made alive. It was given me at
that time to know what it was to be born again,
John iii. 5. I saw the eighth chapter to the Romans,
and the doctrines of God's decrees, verified
agreeable to his eternal, everlasting, and
unchangeable purposes. The word of God was
sweet to my taste, yea sweeter than honey and
the honeycomb. Christ was revealed to my soul as
the chiefest among ten thousand. These heavenly
moments were really as life to the dead, and what
John calls an earnest of the Spirit. This was indeed
unspeakable, and I firmly believe undeniable by
many. Now every leading providential
circumstance that happened to me, from the day I
was taken from my parents to that hour, was then
in my view, as if it had but just then occurred
65
analysis
- about providential design, spiritual autobiography
- recalling everything that's happened to him => a sign of God's love that he didn't lose faith/die
- grand spiritual authority figure looking over him
66
Equiano's conversion
I was sensible of the invisible hand of God, which
guided and protected me when in truth I knew it
not: still the Lord pursued me although I slighted
and disregarded it; this mercy melted me down.
When I considered my poor wretched state I
wept, seeing what a great debtor I was to
sovereign free grace. Now the Ethiopian was
willing to be saved by Jesus Christ, the sinner's
only surety, and also to rely on none other person
or thing for salvation. Self was obnoxious, and
good works he had none, for it is God that
worketh in us both to will and to do. The amazing
things of that hour can never be told—it was joy
in the Holy Ghost! I felt an astonishing change;
the burden of sin, the gaping jaws of hell, and the
fears of death, that weighed me down before,
now lost their horror; indeed I thought death
would now be the best earthly friend I ever had.
67
analysis
- Ethiopian saved by Jesus christ
- epiphany of something
- Equiano understanding himself as representative of something big
- trying to create a literary persona or trope that every person who's been enslaved can relate to
- creating one size fits all model for others' experiences
- trying to speak on the behalf of those born in Ethiopia etc. (hypothesis of other writers)
- create a model where everyone is subsumed
- might be representing those who can't write to speak on their behalf
68
Equiano's conversion
Such were my grief and joy as I believe are seldom
experienced. I was bathed in tears, and said, What
am I that God should thus look on me the vilest of
sinners? I felt a deep concern for my mother and
friends, which occasioned me to pray with fresh
ardour; and, in the abyss of thought, I viewed the
unconverted people of the world in a very awful
state, being without God and without hope.
- part of multiple designs or plans to go to Africa
- "return to the unconverted people of the world" to spread gospel of Christianity
- believes the best thing he can do is to expose them to the same belief system he's a part of
- even though may not be what those people want
- a way of assimilation => to assimilate into a system they have no interest in
69
Returning to Africa in order to spread Christianity
My sole motive for thus dwelling on this
transaction, or inserting these papers, is the
opinion which gentlemen of sense and education,
who are acquainted with Africa, entertain of the
probability of converting the inhabitants of it to
the faith of Jesus Christ, if the attempt were
countenanced by the legislature
- thinking of sense and education, cult of sensibility
- Christianity main difference
70
Africa as a major economic trader
It is trading upon safe grounds. A commercial
intercourse with Africa opens an inexhaustible
source of wealth to the manufacturing interests of
Great Britain, and to all which the slave trade is an
objection.
If I am not misinformed, the manufacturing
interest is equal, if not superior, to the landed
interest, as to the value, for reasons which will
soon appear. The abolition of slavery, so
diabolical, will give a most rapid extension of
manufactures, which is totally and diametrically
opposite to what some interested people assert.
The manufacturers of this country must and will,
in the nature and reason of things, have a full and
constant employ by supplying the African markets.
Population, the bowels and surface of Africa,
abound in valuable and useful returns; the hidden
treasures of centuries will be brought to light and
into circulation. Industry, enterprize, and mining,
will have their full scope, proportionably as they
civilize. In a word, it lays open an endless field of
commerce to the British manufactures and
merchant adventurer. The manufacturing interest
and the general interests are synonymous. The
abolition of slavery would be in reality an
universal good
71
analysis
- lead to economic advantage to the world => vision didn't come to fruition
- commerce and exchange of capitalism benefits everyone involved
