Born
in Benin in the late 18th century, Equiano was enslaved
at the age of 11, but he became educated and secured his
freedom. He was a major voice advocating an end to slavery.
His narrative, written in English in 1789, immediately became
a popular sensation. It is a rare glimpse of the slave trade
from the point of view of the slave.
I
have already acquainted the reader with the time and place
of my birth. My father, besides many slaves, had a numerous
family, of which seven lived to grow up, including myself
and sister, who was the only daughter. As I was the youngest
of the sons, I became, of course, the greatest favorite
with my mother, and was always with her; and she used to
take particular pains to form my mind. I was trained up
from my earliest years in the art of war: my daily exercise
was shooting and throwing javelins, and my mother adorned
me with emblems, after the manner of our greatest warriors.
In this way I grew up till I had turned the age of eleven,
when an end was put to my happiness in the following manner:
Generally, when the grown people in the neighborhood were
gone far in the fields to labor, the children assembled
together in some of the neighboring premises to play; and
commonly some of us used to get up a tree to look out for
any assailant, or kidnapper, that might come upon us --
for they sometimes took those opportunities of our parents'
absence, to attack and carry off as many as they could seize.
One day as I was watching at the top of a tree in our yard,
I saw one of those people come into the yard of our next
neighbor but one, to kidnap, there being many stout young
people in it. Immediately on this I gave the alarm of the
rogue, and he was surrounded by the stoutest of them, who
entangled him with cords, so that he could not escape, till
some of the
grown people came and secured him. But, alas!
ere long it was my fate to be thus attacked, and to be carried
off, when none of the grown people were nigh.
One day, when all our people were gone out to their works
as usual, and only I and my dear sister were left to mind
the house, two men and a woman got over our walls, and in
a moment seized us both, and, without giving us time to
cry out, or make resistance, they stopped our mouths, and
ran off with us into the nearest wood. Here they tied our
hands, and continued to carry us as far as they could, till
night came on, when we reached a small house, where the
robbers halted for refreshment, and spent the night. We
were then unbound, but were unable to take any food; and,
being quite overpowered by fatigue and grief, our only relief
was some sleep, which allayed our misfortune for a short
time. The next morning we left the house, and continued
traveling all the day. For a long time we had kept the woods,
but at last we came into a road which I believed I knew.
I had now some hopes of being delivered; for we had advanced
but a little way before I discovered some people at a distance,
on which I began to cry out for their assistance; but my
cries had no other effect than to make them tie me faster
and stop my mouth, and then they put me into a large sack.
They also stopped my sister's mouth, and tied her hands;
and in this manner we proceeded till we were out of sight
of these people. When we went to rest the following night,
they offered us some victuals, but we refused it; and the
only comfort we had was in being in one another's arms all
that night, and bathing each other with our tears. But alas!
we were soon deprived of even the small comfort of weeping
together.
The next day proved a day of greater sorrow than I had yet
experienced; for my sister and I were then separated, while
we lay clasped in each other's arms. It was in vain that
we besought them not to part us; she was tom from me, and
immediately carried away, while I was left in a state of
distraction not to be described. I cried and grieved continually;
and for several days did not eat anything but what they
forced into my mouth. . .
From the time I left my own nation, I always found somebody
that understood me till I came to the sea coast. The languages
of different nations did not totally differ, nor were they
so copious as those of the Europeans, particularly the English.
They were therefore easily learned; and, while I was journeying
thus through Africa, I acquired two or three different tongues.
In this manner I had been travelling for a considerable
time, when, one evening, to my great surprise, whom should
I see brought to the house where I was but my dear sister!
As soon as she saw me, she gave a loud shriek, and ran into
my arms -- I was quite over-
powered; neither of us could speak, but, for a considerable
time, clung to each other in mutual embraces, unable to
do anything but weep. Our meeting affected all who saw us;
and, indeed, I must acknowledge, in honor of those sable
destroyers of human rights, that I never met with any ill
treatment, or saw any offered to their slaves, except tying
them, when necessary, to keep them from running away.
When these people knew we were brother and sister, they
indulged us to be together; and the man, to whom I supposed
we belonged, lay with us, he in the middle, while she and
I held one another by the hands across his breast all night;
and thus for a while we forgot our misfortunes, in the joy
of being together; but even this small comfort was soon
to have an end; for scarcely had the fatal morning appeared
when she was again torn from me forever! I was now more
miserable, if possible, than before. The small relief which
her presence gave me from pain, was gone, and the wretched-ness
of my situation was redoubled by my anxiety after her fate,
and my apprehensions lest her sufferings should be greater
than mine, when I could not be with her to alleviate them.
. . .
The
first object which saluted my eyes when I arrived on the
coast, was the sea, and a slave ship, which was then riding
at anchor, and waiting for its cargo. These filled me with
astonishment, which was soon converted into terror, when
I was carried on board. I was immediately handled, and tossed
up to see if I were sound, by some of the crew; and I was
now persuaded that I had gotten into a world of bad spirits,
and that they were going to kill me. Their complexions,
too, differing so much from ours, their long hair, and the
language they spoke (which was very different from any I
had ever heard), united to confirm me in this belief. Indeed,
such were the horrors of my views and fears at the moment,
that, if ten thousand worlds had been my own, I would have
freely parted with them all to have exchanged my condition
with that of the meanest slave in my own country. When I
looked round the ship too, and saw a large furnace of copper
boiling, and a multitude of black people of every description
chained together, every one of their countenances expressing
dejection and sorrow, I no longer doubted of my fate; and,
quite overpowered with horror and anguish, I fell motionless
on the deck and fainted. When I recovered a little, I found
some black people about me, who I believed were some of
those who had brought me on board, and had been receiving
their pay; they talked to me in order to cheer me, but all
in vain. I asked them if we were not to be eaten by those
white men with horrible looks, red faces, and long hair.
They told me I was not, and one of the crew brought me a
small portion of spirituous liquor in a wine glass; but
being afraid of him, I would not take it out of his hand.
One of the blacks therefore took it from him and gave it
to me, and I took a little down my palate, which, instead
of reviving me, as they thought it would, threw me into
the greatest consternation at the strange feeling it produced,
having never tasted any such liquor before. Soon after this,
the blacks who brought me on board went off, and left me
abandoned to despair.
I now saw myself deprived of all chance of returning to
my native country, or even the least glimpse of hope of
gaining the shore, which I now considered as friendly; and
I even wished for my former slavery in preference to my
present situation, which was filled with horrors of every
kind, still heightened by my ignorance of what I was to
undergo. I was not long suffered to indulge my grief; I
was soon put down under the decks, and there I received
such a salutation in my nostrils as I had never experienced
in my life: so that, with the loathsomeness of the stench,
and crying together, I became so sick and low that I was
not able to eat, nor had I the least desire to taste anything.
I now wished for the last friend, death, to relieve me;
but soon, to my grief, two of the white men offered me eatables;
and, on my refusing to eat, one of them held me fast by
the hands, and laid me across, I think, the windlass, and
tied my feet, while the other flogged me severely. I had
never experienced anything of this kind before, and, although
not being used to the water, I naturally feared that element
the first time I saw it, yet, nevertheless, could I have
got over the nettings, I would have jumped over the side,
but I could not; and besides, the crew used to watch us
very closely who were not chained down to the decks, lest
we should leap into the water; and I have seen some of these
poor African prisoners most severely cut, for attempting
to do so, and hourly whipped for not eating. This indeed
was often the case with myself.
In a little time after, amongst the poor chained men, I
found some of my own nation, which in a small degree gave
ease to my mind. I inquired of these what was to be done
with us? They gave me to understand, we were to be carried
to these white people's country to work for them. I then
was a little revived, and thought, if it were no worse than
working, my situation was not so desperate; but still I
feared I should be put to death, the white people looked
and acted, as I thought, in so savage a manner; for I had
never seen among any people such instances of brutal cruelty;
and this not only shown towards us blacks, but also to some
of the whites themselves. One white man in particular I
saw, when we were permitted to be on deck, flogged so unmercifully
with a large rope near the foremast, that he died in consequence
of it; and they tossed him over the side as they would have
done a brute. This made me fear these people the more; and
I expected nothing less than to be treated in the same manner.
I could not help expressing my fears and apprehensions to
some of my countrymen; I asked them if these people had
no country, but lived in this hollow place (the ship)? They
told me they did not, but came from a distant one. "Then,"
said I, "how comes it in all our country we never heard
of them?" They told me because they lived so very far
off. I then asked where were their women? had they any like
themselves? I was told they had. "And why," said
I, "do we not see them?" They answered, because
they were left behind. I asked how the vessel could go?
They told me they could not tell; but that there was cloth
put upon the masts by the help of the ropes I saw, and then
the vessel went on; and the white men had some spell or
magic they put in the water when they liked, in order to
stop the vessel. I was exceedingly amazed at this account,
and really thought they were spirits. I therefore wished
much to be from amongst them, for I expected they would
sacrifice me; but my wishes were vain -- for we were so
quartered that it was impossible for any of us to make our
escape.
While we stayed on the coast I was mostly on deck; and one
day, to my great astonishment, I saw one of these vessels
coming in with the sails up. As soon as the whites saw it,
they gave a great shout, at which we were amazed; and the
more so, as the vessel appeared larger by approaching nearer.
At last, she came to an anchor in my sight, and when the
anchor was let go, I and my countrymen who saw it, were
lost in astonishment to observe the vessel stop -- and were
now convinced it was done by magic. Soon after this the
other ship got her boats out, and they came on board of
us, and the people of both ships seemed very glad to see
each other. Several of the strangers also shook hands with
us black people, and made motions with their hands, signifying
I suppose, we were to go to their country, but we did not
understand them.
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 gaffing of
the chains, now became 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 heightened my apprehensions, and
my opinion of the cruelty of the whites.
One day they had taken a number of fishes; and when they
had killed and satisfied themselves with as many as they
thought fit, to our astonishment who were on deck, rather
than give any of them to us to eat, as we expected, they
tossed the remaining fish into the sea again, although we
begged and prayed for some as well as we could, but in vain;
and some of my countrymen, being pressed by hunger, took
an opportunity, when they thought no one saw them, of trying
to get a little privately; but they were discovered, and
the attempt procured them some very severe
floggings.
One day, when we had a smooth sea and moderate wind,
two of my wearied countrymen who were chained together (I
was near them at the time), preferring death to such a fife
of misery, somehow made through the nettings and jumped
into the sea; immediately, another quite dejected fellow,
who, on account of his illness, was suffered to be out of
irons, also followed their example; and I believe many more
would very soon have done the same, if they had not been
prevented by the ship's crew, who were instantly alarmed.
Those of us that were the most active, were in a moment
put down under the deck; and there was such a noise and
confusion amongst the people of the ship as I never heard
before, to stop her, and get the boat out to go after the
slaves. However, two of the wretches were drowned, but they
got the other, and afterwards flogged him unmercifully,
for thus attempting to prefer death to slavery. In this
manner we continued to undergo more hardships than I can
now relate, hardships which are inseparable from this accursed
trade. Many a time we were near suffocation from the want
of fresh air, which we were often without for whole days
together. This, and the stench of the necessary tubs, carried
off many.
At last we came in sight of the island of Barbadoes,
at which the whites on board gave a great shout, and made
many signs of joy to us. We did not know what to think of
this; but as the vessel drew nearer, we plainly saw the
harbor, and other ships of different kinds and sizes, and
we soon anchored amongst them, off Bridgetown. Many merchants
and planters now came on board, though it was in the evening.
They put us in separate parcels, and examined us attentively.
They also made us jump, and pointed to the land, signifying
we were to go there. We thought by this, we should be eaten
by these ugly men, as they appeared to us; and, when soon
after we were all put down under the deck again, there was
much dread and trembling among us, and nothing but bitter
cries to be heard all the night from these apprehensions,
insomuch, that at last the white people got some old slaves
from the land to pacify us. They told us we were not to
be eaten, but to work, and were soon to go on land, where
we should see many of our country people. This report eased
us much. And sure enough, soon after we were landed, there
came to us Africans of all languages.
We were conducted immediately to the merchant's yard, where
we were all pent up together, like so many sheep in a fold,
without regard to sex or age. As every object was new to
me, everything I saw filled me with surprise. What struck
me first, was, that the houses were built with bricks and
stories, and in every other respect different from those
I had seen in Africa; but I was still more astonished on
seeing people on horseback. I did not know what this could
mean; and, indeed, I thought these people were full of nothing
but magical arts. While I was in this astonishment, one
of my fellow prisoners spoke to a countryman of his, about
the horses, who said they were the same kind they had in
their country. I understood them, though they were from
a distant part of Africa; and I thought it odd I had not
seen any horses there; but afterwards, when I came to converse
with different Africans, I found they had many horses amongst
them, and much larger than those I then saw.
We were not many days in the merchant's custody, before
we were sold after their usual manner, which is this: On
a signal given (as the beat of a drum), the buyers rush
at once into the yard where the slaves are confined, and
make choice of that parcel they like best. The noise and
clamor with which this is attended, and the eagerness visible
in the countenances of the buyers, serve not a little to
increase the apprehension of terrified Africans, who may
well be supposed to consider them as the ministers of that
destruction to which they think themselves devoted. In this
manner, without scruple, are relations and friends separated,
most of them never to see each other again.
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? 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.
Source: The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano,
by Olaudah Equiano, St. Martin's Press
