Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African
This engraving shows the face and torso of Gustavus Vassa (c. 1745–1797), or Olaudah Equiano, holding a book. He was an abolitionist writer who claimed to be born in the Igbo-speaking area of the Bight of Biafra region. Kidnapped from his natal village in 1757 at about the age of 11 or 12, he was then transported to Barbados, where he briefly stayed - unsold - until he was taken to Virginia where he remained about a month. His new master, a British Naval officer, took him to London and gave him the name Gustavas Vassa, a name he preferred later in life. When in his mid-40s, he wrote his narrative "to arouse in Britain's Parliament a sense of compassion for the miseries which the slave-trade has entailed on my unfortunate countrymen." There is some debate among scholars if Vassa was actually born in Africa. See Vincent Carretta, ed., The Interesting Narrative and Other Writings, Olaudah Equiano (Penguin Books, 1995, rev. ed, 2003); and Paul E. Lovejoy, "Olaudah Equiano or Gustavas Vassa-What's in a Name?" Atlantic Studies 9 (2012), p. 165-184).
Image Title
Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African
RegID
SI-OB-1167
Date
1789
Title
Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African
Source
Gustavus Vassa, The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavas Vassa, the African. . . (London: T. Wilkens, et al., 1789 ), frontispiece.
Language
English
Item sets
Portraits & Illustrations of Individuals
Spatial Coverage
North America--Virginia
Researchers
Jerome Handler; Michael Tuite; Henry B. Lovejoy Graduate Research Assistants: Tiffany Beebe; Travis May
Identifier
I032