Olaudah Equiano, autobiography.doc

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The Interesting Narrative of the Life of
Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African.
Written by Himself. Vol. I:
Electronic Edition.

Equiano, Olaudah, b. 1745

Funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities
supported the electronic publication of this title.

Text transcribed by Apex Data Services, Inc.
Images scanned by Elizabeth S. Wright
Text encoded by Apex Data Services, Elizabeth S. Wright and Natalia Smith
First edition, 2001
ca. 280K
Academic Affairs Library, UNC-CH
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill,
2001.

        © This work is the property of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. It may be used freely by individuals for research, teaching and personal use as long as this statement of availability is included in the text.

Source Description:
(title page) The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African. Written by Himself. Vol. I.
Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa.
v, [9], 272, [5] p.
London
Author
[1789]
 

        The electronic edition is a part of the UNC-CH digitization project, Documenting the American South.
        This electronic edition has been created by Optical Character Recognition (OCR). OCR-ed text has been compared against the original document and corrected. The text has been encoded using the recommendations for Level 4 of the TEI in Libraries Guidelines.
        Original grammar, punctuation, and spelling have been preserved. Encountered typographical errors have been preserved, and appear in red type.
        This electronic edition has been transcribed from a microfilm supplied by the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, New York Public Library.
        The long s , which was used routinely in eighteenth-century English printing, but which looks like an f to today's reader, has been printed as an s in the text of this electronic edition.
        Catchwords on every page of the original have not been preserved.
        All footnotes are inserted at the point of reference within paragraphs.
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Library of Congress Subject Headings, 21st edition, 1998

Languages Used:

·         English

LC Subject Headings:

·         Africa -- Description and travel -- Early works to 1800.

·         African Americans -- Biography.

·         Blacks -- Biography.

·         Equiano, Olaudah, b. 1745.

·         Slave trade -- Africa.

·         Slavery -- History -- 18th century.

·         Slaves -- Great Britain -- Biography.

·         Slaves -- United States -- Biography.

·         Slaves' writings.

Revision History:

·         2001-10-22,
Celine Noel and Wanda Gunther
revised TEIHeader and created catalog record for the electronic edition.

·         2001-05-07,
Natalia Smith, project manager,
finished TEI-conformant encoding and final proofing.

·         2001-04-06,
Elizabeth S. Wright
finished TEI/SGML encoding

·         2001-03-20,
Apex Data Services, Inc.
finished transcribing text.

Olaudah Equiano
or
GUSTAVUS VASSSA.
the African
Publish'd March 1789 by G. Vassa
[Frontispiece Image]

[Title Page Image]

THE
INTERESTING NARRATIVE
OF
THE LIFE
OF
OLAUDAH EQUIANO,
OR
GUSTAVUS VASSA,
THE AFRICAN.
WRITTEN BY HIMSELF.
VOL I.

Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid, for
the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation.
And in that day shall ye say, Praise the Lord, call upon his name,
declare his doings among the people. Isaiah xii. 2, 4.

LONDON:
Printed for and sold by the AUTHOR, NO. 10, Union-Street,
Middlesex Hospital:
Sold also by Mr. Johnson, St. Paul's Church-Yard; Mr. Murray, Fleet-Street; Messers. Robson and Clark, Bond-Street; Mr. Davis, opposite Gray's Ian, Holborn; Messers. Shepperson and Reynolds, and Mr. Jackson, Oxford-Street; Mr. Lackington, Chifwell-Street; Mr. Mathews, Strand; Mr. Murray, Prince's-Street, Soho; Mess. Taylor and Co. South Arch, Royal Exchange; Mr. Button, Newington-Causeway; Mr. Parsons, Paternoster-Row; and may be had of all the Booksellers in Town and Country.
[Entered at Stationer's Hall.]

Page i

CONTENTS
OF
VOLUME I.

CHAP. I.

·         The author's account of his country, their manners and customs, &c. . . . 1

CHAP. II.

·         The author's birth and parentage--His being kidnapped with his sister--Horrors of a slave ship . . . 45

CHAP. III.

·         The author is carried to Virginia--Arrives in England--His wonder at a fall of snow . . . 89

Page ii

CHAP. IV.

·         A particular account of the celebrated engagement between Admiral Boseawen and Monsieür Le Clue . . . 130

CHAP. V.

·         Various interesting instances of oppression, cruelty, and extortion . . . 180

CHAP. VI.

·         Favourable change in the author's situation--He commences merchant with threepence . . . 227

Page iii

To the Lords Spiritual and
Temporal, and the Commons
of the Parliament of Great Britain.

My Lords and Gentlemen,

        Permit me, with the greatest deference and respect, to lay at your feet the following genuine Narrative; the chief design of which is to excite in your august assemblies a sense of compassion for the miseries which the Slave-Trade has entailed on my unfortunate countrymen. By the horrors of that trade was I first torn away from all the tender connexions that were naturally dear to my heart; but these, through the mysterious ways

Page iv

of Providence, I ought to regard as infinitely more than compensated by the introduction I have thence obtained to the knowledge of the Christian religion, and of a nation which, by its liberal sentiments, its humanity, the glorious freedom of its government, and its proficiency in arts and sciences, has exalted the dignity of human nature.

        I am sensible I ought to entreat your pardon for addressing to you a work so wholly devoid of literary merit; but, as the production of an unlettered African, who is actuated by the hope of becoming an instrument towards the relief of his suffering countrymen, I trust that such a man, pleading in such a case, will be acquitted of boldness and presumption.

Page v

        May the God of heaven inspire your hearts with peculiar benevolence on that important day when the question of Abolition is to be discussed, when thousands, in consequence of your Determination, are to look for Happiness or Misery !

I am,
MY LORDS AND GENTLEMEN,
Your most obedient,
And devoted humble Servant,

OLAUDAH EQUIANO,
OR
GUSTAVUS VASSA.

Union-Street, Mary-le-bone,
March 24, I789.

Page vi

LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS.

·         His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales.

·         His Royal Highness the Duke of York.

·         A

o        The Right Hon. the Earl of Ailesbury

o        Admiral Affleck

o        Mr. William Abington, 2 copies

o        Mr. John Abraham

o        James Adair, Esq.

o        Reverend Mr. Aldridge

o        Mr. John Almon

o        Mrs. Arnot

o        Mr. Joseph Armitage

o        Mr. Joseph Ashpinshaw

o        Mr. Samuel Atkins

o        Mr. John Atwood

o        Mr. Thomas Atwood

o        Mr. Ashwell

o        J. C. Ashworth, Esq.

·         B

o        His Grace the Duke of Bedford

o        Her Grace the Duchess of Buccleugh

o        The Right Rev. the Lord Bishop of Bangor

o        The Right Hon. Lord Belgrave

o        The Rev. Doctor Baker

o        Mrs. Baker

o        Matthew Baillie, M. D.

o        Mrs. Baillie

o        Miss Baillie

o        Miss J. Baillie

o        David Barclay, Esq.

o        Mr. Robert Barrett ...