He tells them that, if they look around the world and think of themselves as superior, they should recall a Bible passage stating that God made all nations of men “of one blood. Equiano urges Europeans to remember that their ancestors were once as uncivilized as Africans, but that there’s no reason those ancestors should have been made slaves. Olaudah Equianos Interesting Narrative, first published in 1789, is an extended account of his enslavement and multiple Atlantic crossings, as well as his. Further oppressed by the burden of slavery, they are not treated as men. The Life of Olaudah Equiano is a marvelous book. After much prodding, Equiano writes the story of his life to expose the dehumanization, brutality, and cruelty of slavery and use it as a device in spreading the abolitionist agenda in Great Britain. He argues that the “apparent inferiority” of Africans can much more persuasively be linked to their situation-since they are initially ignorant of Europeans’ customs and language-rather than to true difference. During the latter part of his life, Equiano turn into an outspoken abolitionist. He hopes such an example might work against racism, since the minds of the Spaniards couldn’t have changed because of their complexions. Mitchell’s example of the Spaniards, who, since inhabiting the warmer parts of the Americas, have turned as dark as the native Indians. Equiano adds that he’ll leave the question of the different skin color between Eboan Africans and modern Jews to more learned men than himself.
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