Born around 1745 in what is now southeastern
Nigeria, Olaudah Equano was captured at the age oi
ten and sold to English slave traders who sent him
to the West Indies. Sold and resold, from Virginia tc
the British navy, he finally managed to buy his free-
dom in 1766. Equiano (known also as Gustavus Vas
sa) eventually converted to Methodism and became
an advocate for the abolition of slavery, publishing
The Interesting Narrative in 1789. He died in 1797.
