Olaudah Equiano: podcast appearances and interviews

Olaudah Equiano, also known as Gustavus Vassa, was a writer and abolitionist born around 1745. According to his memoir, he was from the village of Essaka, in what is now southern Nigeria. Equiano was enslaved as a child in West Africa and subsequently shipped to the Caribbean, where he was sold to a Royal Navy officer. He was sold two more times before purchasing his freedom in 1766. After gaining his freedom, Equiano settled in London and supported the British abolitionist movement, becoming a leading figure in the 1780s. He was affiliated with the Sons of Africa, a group composed of Africans living in Britain. Equiano is most famously known for his autobiography, The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, published in 1789. The book was highly successful, with nine editions published during his lifetime, and played a significant role in the passage of the British Slave Trade Act of 1807, which abolished the slave trade in Britain. His autobiography gained renewed scholarly interest in the late 20th century and continues to be an important primary source for understanding the history of abolition and the transatlantic slave trade.