The Slave Story of Olaudah Equiano
By Ms. Guarneri
My name is Olaudah Equiano, now known as Gustavus Vassa. I was born in the Kingdom of Benin in Africa and lived with the Ibo people, one of the tribes. I lived with my family far away from the coast up until I was 11 years old. It was then that I had a horrific experience. Now, I am able to write a book to tell you about it.
I remember the day I was captured. Even though many of the Ibo people owned slaves, I heard that men would come and sometimes take people out of Benin or even Africa as slaves. One day, my mom wasn’t home and when I was home alone with my sister, two men and a woman came into our home and abducted us. Several days later, my sister and I were separated and I haven’t seen her since.
The men and women who were telling me and the other new slaves where to go looked just like us with dark skin. They might have been from other tribes in Africa since slave trading was common. About seven months later, though, I encountered white men with pale faces who put me on a ship. I was forced into a very small space with about 200 other enslaved Africans.
Inside the ship was unbearable. We did not have enough headroom and were forced to constantly crouch down and pile in like sardines in small spaces. “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.”
Some tried to commit suicide in the ship by refusing to eat the gruel we were fed. I thought about this, but after seeing the punishment, I thought again. Some were tortured and they told us about harsh beatings that took place. Others were forced to eat with a machine – the speculum orum – that held slaves’ mouths open while food was shoved down their throats. They wouldn’t let us kill ourselves, but they beat us. It made no sense to me. Was I valuable? I felt worthless.
After what felt like a lifetime, I arrived at a place called Barbados where I was put up for auction . Some people looked at me, poked at me, and asked me questions I did not understand. No one wanted me there, which I couldn’t decide was a good thing or a bad thing. I was sent off to another place, called Virginia, and I was purchased. Since then, I have been working on a plantation in this place and I have been picking the tobacco fields.