Overview

An investigation into the kidnapping of Olaudah Equiano and the British slave trade. Olaudah Equiano, also known as Gustavas Vassa, earned his place in history by writing what is considered the first Slave Narrative. Equiano’s book, The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavas Vassa, the African, has been analyzed from dozens of angles by countless historians and scholars. It is considered both a window into the life of a slave and freedman in the mid-eighteenth century, and into life in Africa at that time. The Interesting Narrative may also be a window into the mid-eighteenth century experience of a gay or bisexual African man.