USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -Equiano was born in what is now Nigeria and sold into slavery aged 11. After spells in Barbados and Virginia he spent eight years travelling the world as slave to a British Royal Navy officer, who renamed him Gustavus Vassa.

Detailed explanation-2: -But Equiano’s experience in slavery was quite different from that of most slaves; he did not participate in field work, he served his owners personally and went to sea, was taught to read and write, and worked in trading.

Detailed explanation-3: -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 .

Detailed explanation-4: -Because of its wide influence, Equiano is sometimes regarded as the originator of the slave narrative, although numerous autobiographies in various forms by people formerly enslaved in the United States were published beginning in the mid-18th century.