Learning from the Equiano Project

One of my biggest surprises from working on the Equiano project was learning that the movement to abolish the slave trade and the movement to abolish slavery were very different things. I feel like in my history classes, we have learned about colonial-era slavery and the Atlantic Slave Trade in the same breath, causing me to view them as inseparable systems that necessitate each other. I had always assumed that people in the 18th century felt the same way.

Yet recognizing that the two movements were separate put my understanding of history, and Equiano's narrative in a new context. I began to appreciate what it meant for Equiano's narrative to join anti-slave trade literature and focus on that more than slavery itself. I still think Equiano would want slavery to be abolished in its entirety, but it seems like abolishing the Atlantic Slave Trade is much more of a priority for him that he wants to focus on for his audience.

This helps answer some of my questions about why Equiano would keep mentioning how much better slaves were treated in his homeland. Originally assuming that his main goal was to argue for the abolishment of all slavery, I thought that including 'better' forms of slavery was an unstrategic move on Equiano's part. However, now my guess is that Equiano intended to communicate that slavery can be acceptable in the one's homeland under more humane conditions, but it is when the practice of slavery is conducted across the world that the true injustices arise.