ENGLISH LITERATURE (CBSE/UGC NET)

Detailed explanation-1: -Alongside his book, Equiano was involved in other anti-slavery campaigns. He was a founding member of the Sons of Africa, an abolitionist group formed by Africans in Britain.

Detailed explanation-2: -Beyond his personal success, Equiano’s book made a vital contribution to the abolitionist cause. His story refuted many of the racist stereotypes and misconceptions that were prominent at the time as he gave the public an opportunity to see slavery through the eyes of a former slave.

Detailed explanation-3: -Equiano published his autobiography, The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano (1789), which depicted the horrors of slavery. The autobiography went through nine editions in his lifetime and helped obtain passage of the British Slave Trade Act 1807, which abolished the slave trade.

Detailed explanation-4: -The book describes Equiano’s time spent in enslavement, and documents his attempts at becoming an independent man through his study of the Bible, and his eventual success in gaining his own freedom and in business thereafter.