Primary Source Analysis Equiano - 937 Words

Primary Source Analysis – Equiano Olaudah Equiano had a very unique experience with the slave trade system. He began conveying his experience with how he was captured in his village by two men and a women, who kidnapped him and his sister. Their captors traveled with them for a few days before separating the siblings, and selling Equiano to his first master. He was treated fairly well, even when he ran away for a day and came back, he says his master â€Å"having slightly reprimanded me, ordered me to be taken care of, and not ill-treated.† (Equiano 27) Shortly after this engagement, Equiano’s master loses his wife and child and sends Equiano away to be sold again. He even gets to see his sister one last time before, again, they are separated. Equiano is then sold to another master, a wealthy widow who had a son. Equiano then states, â€Å"The next day I was washed and perfumed, and when mealtime came, I was led into the presence of my mistress, and ate and dran k before her and her son. This filled me with astonishment; and I could scarcely avoid expressing my surprise that the young gentlemen should suffer me, who was bound, to eat with him who was free; and not only so, but that he would not at any time either eat or drink till I had taken first, because I was the eldest, which was agreeable to our custom.† (Equiano 29) Up to this point, Equiano had it comparatively easy when compared to the experiences of others who had been enslaved. As The Slave Ship illustrated for us,Show MoreRelatedBibliographic Essay on African American History6221 Words   |  25 PagesSlave Traffic,† (47-68); and, David Richardson, â€Å"Shipboard Revolts, African Authority, and the Atlantic Slave,† (69-93), are but two examples. For a first-hand account by Middle Passage survivors, see Olaudah Equiano, The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano: Written by Himself, edited by Robert J. Allison (Boston: Bedford Books of St. Martin s Press, 1995). Questions regarding the veracity of Equiano’s richly detailed book, which is not at variance with others on the