Talk:Olaudah Equiano

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Equiano's death
The article says Equiano died on the 31th of March 1797, this is a date published in The gentleman's magazine I 'd like to refer to Paul Edwards, EQUIANO'S TRAVELS, 1996.the editors introduction on page XXI : " a few years later the editors of the 1809 (Belper) and the 1814 ( Leeds) editions do not know the date of his death. THe editor of 1809 gives it as 1801 and the editor of 1814 admits that he does not know..."Dorisjanminters (talk) 21:21, 11 March 2009 (UTC) j

Discussion
From the reading I have done it was Pascal not King who educated Equiano, no? (http://www.brycchancarey.com/equiano/biog.htm) & (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part1/1p276.html) HybridFusion 03:20, 5 October 2005 (UTC)

"Sadly, in his weakened state he fell prey to the mental illness of religion. The other slaves fooled Equiano into believing that if he was not baptized, he would not be able to go to Heaven" This is rediculous... I am not religious at all but thats the least neutral thing i've read in a while.

Quality of the article
I am not a specialist on Olaudah Equiano, but I hope one who can correct this badly written article will read it. I shall not even go into the details, but the English is terrible, the grammar is appalling, the spelling is done in heist and furthermore, even the name of the title hero is shown in two different versions: Olaudah and Olandah. In my sincere opinion articles like this, give Wikipedia a bad name. I wish I knew enough on the subject matter to edit it myself, but that is not the case. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Ruskiman (talk • contribs) 15:07, 22 December 2006 (UTC).

haste? Zigzig20s 04:40, 27 January 2007 (UTC)

There is also at least one factual error. The article states: 'Pascal had him cuffed and told him that he would remain in shakles until he accepted the name chosen for him.' This represents a misunderstanding of the word 'cuffed', which means simply 'slapped', and there is no mention of shakles in the text. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 80.176.229.152 (talk) 14:24, 18 July 2009 (UTC)

Refering to OE as "his toy" is very POV and unencyclopedic. "Some historians will say otherwise" is a weasel formation. Darmot and gilad (talk) 16:06, 7 October 2010 (UTC)

I would like to add to this discussion that, at the time of writing, the section entitled 'Equiano and Socialism' is written in very poor prose.

For one thing it, substantially repeats information cited above (for example, that he was a slave, and was freed by Robert King). More broadly, I am struggling to understand what the paragraph is really trying to say. "Enslaved, Equiano formed a part of the socialist system which categorized him as a reeducatable item": to me, as a lay reader, this makes little sense. A 'socialist system' usually denotes a collectivist system of government associated with Marxist thought. What does it mean here?

Again, the sentence "Equiano earned money through the short supply and high demand for clerks in Philadelphia" is extremely unclear. How exactly did he profit from this state of affairs?

The author of this section then, as far as I can see, attempts to make some oblique point about how Equiano became complicit in the global capitalist system. Besides being nonsensical, this section broadly seems inappropriate since it seems to express the opinion of the individual author rather than an academic consensus on Equiano. It has no place in an encyclopedia entry.

As far as I can see, the paragraph adds nothing to the content of the article, is repetitive, and makes little sense.

I would like to echo the thoughts of the previous commentator that the lack of quality in this article is concerning. Equiano is regarded as a significant figure in black British history, and he is widely taught in schools. As such, lots of students will consult this page in order to find out more about him. We would hardly tolerate an article on Winston Churchill to be written so shoddily! As a hero of the abolitionist movement, Equiano is worthy of a decent write-up. I only wish that I were well-informed enough to write it myself.

Discussion text which makes the article read more like a student essay
you did not state what language he spoke and what was his education about —Preceding unsigned comment added by 148.100.224.129 (talk) 22:44, 8 July 2008 (UTC)

I would suggest placing this here, rather than in the article. If anyone has a better suggestion please improve.

Birth in colonial America or West Africa ? 1. Written Evidence:
 * Support for the idea that Equiano was born in Carolina - Equiano's baptismal record at St Margaret’s Church, Westminster, dated 9 February 1759, records that he was born in 'Carolina'; a Royal Navy muster roll from Constantine Phipp’s Arctic expedition of 1773 says that Equiano was born in 'South Carolina'. In both cases, the information almost certainly came from Equiano himself; there are no primary sources.
 * Support for the idea that Equiano was born in Africa - Equiano's own autobiography, 'The Interesting Narrative...' tells us that he was born in West Africa. This information also comes from Equiano himself.

2. Circumstantial Biographical Evidence:
 * Support for the idea that Equiano was born in Carolina - Equiano gets the dates wrong about the ships in which he was brought from America to England which would be consistent with him having made this part of his story up. Equiano's account of his life is usually very accurate when it can be checked against independent or primary sources, making it surprising that his account of his first ten years can be shown to be inaccurate in parts. Equiano is not recorded as having used the name "Equiano" before publishing his autobiography. All his friends and acquaintances knew him by the name "Gustavus Vassa". He probably made up the name "Olaudah Equiano" as part of the careful construction of an African persona he carried out in 1789.
 * Support for the idea that Equiano was born in West Africa - Although Equiano gets the dates wrong about the ships in which he was brought from America to England, he was a very young child at the time, and suffering a severe trauma, so it is reasonable to assume that his memory might sometimes be at fault. Equiano's account of his life is usually very accurate when it can be checked against independent sources, showing that it was his usual practice to tell the truth as far as he could remember. Although Equiano never used his birth name before 1789, this was not unusual. Few slaves or former slaves used their African names. Equiano's friend Quobna Ottobah Cugoano, for example, used his slave name of John Stuart throughout his life, except on the title page of his book (1787). "Gustavus Vassa" was not his birth name, even had he been born in colonial America, it was given to him later by a master.

3. Equiano's Motivation: 4. Close Reading of the Text:
 * Support for the idea that Equiano was born in Carolina - Equiano's main motivation was to end the slave trade, so he would write or say anything in his published work that he thought he could get away with, as long as it brought the abolition of the slave trade, and slavery itself, closer. Equiano had nothing to hide in his early life, so he told the truth about his birthplace to the church clerk at his baptism and to the naval officer who compiled the muster roll in which he gave his birthplace as South Carolina.
 * Support for the idea that Equiano was born in Africa - Equiano's main motivation was to end the slave trade, end slavery, and establish free settlements in West Africa, so he would be very careful to tell the truth in his published work and not write or say anything that might bring him or his campaign into disrepute. Equiano had been born in West Africa but now had to make the best of his new life and circumstances, and  there was little point in making an issue about his origins, now that his life was in the 'New World' he gave this as his 'adopted' birthplace.
 * Support for the idea that Equiano was born in Carolina - Much of the early part of 'The Interesting Narrative...', in which Equiano describes West Africa and the Middle Passage, closely resembles similar accounts made by European or American authors, for example, by Anthony Benezet. Equiano probably invented his African childhood, and copied information out of books such as these. The parts of 'The Interesting Narrative...' that describe West Africa and the Middle Passage have a mythological style that makes them unreliable as history.
 * Support for the idea that Equiano was born in Africa - Much of the early part of 'The Interesting Narrative...', in which Equiano describes West Africa and the Middle Passage, closely resembles similar accounts made by European or American authors, for example, by Anthony Benezet, yet Equiano references many of these works, as would anyone giving a true account, having consulted them in order to help him remember the details of a distant childhood and out of genuine interest in the geography and social anthropology of his homeland. The parts of ''The Interesting Narrative...' that describe West Africa and the Middle Passage are strengthened by this example of thorough research and show that he took his work very seriously and wanted to write to a very high standard.

5. Contemporary Expectations:
 * Support for the idea that Equiano was born in Carolina - Readers in the eighteenth century were not fools, and demanded the same high level of honesty and veracity that we would now expect. However, Equiano knew that it would be very difficult for his readers to check the truth, or otherwise, of his account. In the late eighteenth century, there were more poems, plays, and novels written against slavery than there were 'serious' political tracts. Readers would thus have been more interested in hearing general truths about slavery than particular histories, and so wouldn't have cared so much about whether the details of Equiano's story were true.
 * Support for the idea that Equiano was born in Africa - Readers in the eighteenth century were not fools, and demanded the same high level of honesty and veracity that we would now expect. Thus, Equiano would not have tried to get away with telling a lie about his African origins - somebody, somewhere, would have known the truth. In the late eighteenth century, there were more poems, plays, and novels written against slavery than there were 'serious' political tracts. Equiano would have known that, to be taken seriously, he had to appear as more than just a writer of fiction, but as someone who could write to a very high literary standard, and tell the whole truth.

6. The Realities of Equiano's Life:
 * Support for the idea that Equiano was born in Carolina - Even though Equiano was born in Carolina, he was a long way from home and, by the 1780s, could get away with saying anything he liked about his past, particularly since communications between England and America had been disrupted in the war of 1775-1783. When Equiano was asked for his place of birth during his childhood baptism, he may not have had at that time a sufficient mastery of the legal protocols or legalistic language to give the answer that is normally expected (for example, if he had been asked 'where are you from', he may have understood it as 'where have you recently come from'); however, if this was the case, there is no reason why, as an adult and a fluent English speaker, he would continue to say that he had been born in Carolina, as he later did when joining Constantine Phipp’s Arctic expedition of 1773.
 * Support for the idea that Equiano was born in Africa - Despite the war, links between England and America were still close. Had he been lying, sooner or later someone in America would have detected his falsehood, particularly after his book was published in New York in 1791. Equiano knew that the most intensive search would be made by proslavery campaigners to discredit him. Therefore, he would not have attempted to invent a new identity and birthplace. When Equiano was asked for his place of birth during his childhood baptism, he may not have had at that time a sufficient mastery of the legal protocols or legalistic language to give the answer that is normally expected (for example, if he had been asked 'where are you from', he may have understood it as 'where have you recently come from'); and once the mistake was in writing on his baptismal record, he might have chosen to simply accept the error as unimportant.

7. Equiano's Psychological State:
 * Support for the idea that Equiano was born in Carolina - As a terrified and traumatised child, the young Equiano would have been too afraid to tell anything other than the truth when asked for his place of birth at his baptism ceremony.
 * Support for the idea that Equiano was born in Africa - As a terrified and traumatised child, the young Equiano may have been too afraid to tell the truth when asked for his place of birth at his baptism ceremony. Many children, especially traumatised children, invent stories to explain their origins. Many such people come to terms with their trauma in later life. This might explain why Equiano tells one story when younger, and another when older.

8. The Bottom Line: Jolayemi 23:17, 22 January 2007 (UTC)
 * The bottom line is that we just don't know. As the above list shows, there is evidence on both sides of the debate. Just about the only thing we can say for certain is that, when he was younger, Equiano told people he was from Carolina, but when he was older, he told people he was from West Africa. Whether you believe the younger Equiano or the older Equiano is entirely up to you...


 * I would agree to remove it from the article and leave it here instead. Zigzig20s 04:55, 27 January 2007 (UTC)


 * This text was plagiarized from http://www.brycchancarey.com/equiano/nativity.htm (Text © Brycchan Carey 2003-2005) It should be removed immediately. However, because it is also one of the best sources examining the two sides of this issue, the article should have a link in the section that discusses Equiano's origin.Josh a brewer 07:26, 11 March 2007 (UTC)


 * It can (and should be) be referred to by External link, in order to avoid copyright violation.Parkwells (talk) 21:23, 6 June 2014 (UTC)

Comment on my edit
I have moved chunks of this article around, with the intention of providing a straightforward account of his life, leaving material as to scholarly controversy to the end. I have to confess that I know little of the subject and have undertaken this 'blind'. I hope the result is an improvement. I have not removed the cleanup and essay tags, because I do not feel qualified to do so, but hope there is some one else who can. I hope the stylistic probelms are resolved, but not necessarily those of content. Peterkingiron 14:36, 25 February 2007 (UTC)

A prince?
In the film, Amazing Grace, he refers to himself as someone who was born a prince in Africa. What veracity is there to the claim that he was a prince? Generally, what was the social status of his family background? Dogru144 15:16, 4 March 2007 (UTC)


 * Yes, sadly the film doesn't have much to do with history. Equiano is made to stand in for all slaves synecdochically, be they African American, African Caribbean, or African Princes.  In other words, the film does not clear up whether or not Equiano was a prince from Africa or a pauper from South Carolina (though they do cleverly work in a reference to this as a strategy designed to silence him).  Incidentally, during Equiano's lifetime some people claimed that he was from the Caribbean, though he denied these accounts.Josh a brewer 07:25, 11 March 2007 (UTC)

In Equiano's autobiography he claims he was the son of a chief... Might be technically incorrect in the movie but the idea is correct. 28/10/2010.

Duplication
The section headed "Pioneer of the abolitionist cause" to some extent duplicates the earlier section with an account of his life - does someone who knows about the narrative he wrote want to give a better comment on it and leave the life-story to the earlier section? In common with earlier editors of this page I fear I'm coming at it blind, I hope my edits for clarity and grammar have improved things slightly. Euryanthe 12:01, 22 March 2007 (UTC)

Slavery in England
Actually neither edit summary is really correct. The 1807 Act abolished slavery in British overseas colonies; to quote myself at Cesar Picton:

"'The status of slaves imported into England was legally ambiguous and unclear when Picton arrived, but they were certainly not regarded or treated in the same way as slaves in the British American colonies. The situation was clarified considerably by Somersett's Case of 1772, which although the details are unclear when analysed by lawyers, was generally taken to hold than no person could be a slave in England itself (confirming other reported judgements of 1567 and 1702). Many white apprentices and workers of the time would be classified as near-slaves, though in a time-limited way, by modern standards, and already most black servants seem to have been regarded and treated as free, at least by the time they reached adulthood."

- but there are odd cases of young boys being advertised for sale after 1772. I will remove the reference, which is not really accurate if quoted correctly, & replace with a link to Somersett Johnbod 02:15, 29 April 2007 (UTC)


 * With the exception of blacks brought here as domestic servants by planters, there has never been slavery in England, at least not since the Norman period. However, there were phenomena that may be mistaken for it:


 * Advertisements concerning apprenticing poor children, which was partly a means of providing for their maintenance and education.
 * The transportation of convicts, who arrived in America, and were sold as indentured servants for a term to pay for theri passage. Peterkingiron 21:29, 29 April 2007 (UTC)

That's the theory; in practice things had sometimes been more complicated. Johnbod 21:49, 29 April 2007 (UTC)

Editing References and External links
Here are links that are useful for studying the slave trade, but either don't mention, or don't focus on, Equiano:
 * Scotland and the Abolition of the Slave Trade - schools resource.
 * Teaching resources about Slavery and Abolition on blackhistory4schools.com.

I've cut them from the page, but I'm reposting them here it case they're useful to someone else. --Yamara 19:45, 25 May 2007 (UTC)

Equiano's Igbo name
A user named "Black plague" makes the following statement: "'Equiano' is how the man rendered his name in English in the 1700's, obviously in a time before the Igbo language had a standard written orthography. Ekwuano is how it's rendered in modern Igbo." In response, I posit that the question is simply this: How does Equiano's name appear in his own writing and in secondary sources about him? Cite a relevant secondary source that gives his name in the modern Igbo, and then we'll talk.Josh a brewer 09:54, 11 July 2007 (UTC)

Slaver?
"In addition to being a slave as a young man, he was also a slaver, seaman, merchant, and explorer in South America, the Caribbean, the American colonies, Britain, and the North Pole." He was an anti-slvery activist and a slaver? That makes no sense. Can anyone verify this? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Quaoarian (talk • contribs) 19:04, 18 September 2007 (UTC)

Yes, he writes about this in Chapter XI of his autobiography. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 129.252.216.85 (talk) 13:41, 9 October 2007 (UTC)


 * Not sure why, but someone removed the fact that Equiano traveled on an expedition to the North Pole and that he was a slaver in addition to being an anti-slavery activist later in his life. Just thought I'd point out these omissions--well, deletions.  Josh a brewer 18:59, 24 October 2007 (UTC)

Missing references
Should this article not contain some reference to the "Sons of Africa" - the lobby group that Equiano was part of?

The BBC mentions it briefly on their page ... http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/equiano_olaudah.shtml

ETis 23:54, 23 October 2007 (UTC)


 * Yeah, go ahead and add it! --JayHenry 00:41, 24 October 2007 (UTC)

Incomprehensible Section
According to Equiano's narrative, he remained  [...] ''the Thirty Years' War when Sweden and England were allies, sank within one nautical mile of the start of her maiden voyage in 1628.[clarification needed] The recovery attempts by the English engineers called in to assist proved fruitless; the ship was firmly stuck in the mud until 1961. During the period Equiano was enslaved by Pascal, the Seven Years' War had pitted Sweden against England and as a reference to the enemy's early 17th century flag ship Vasa, the name would have appeared mocking.''

This badly truncated piece seems to imply that Equiano was named after the Swedish warship Vasa, which sank ignominiously in 1628. However, that ship was named for Gustavus Adolfus Vasa, a much later monarch than Gustavus Vasa. Are there any references to the origin of his name (Gustavus Vasa) in the reference material? If not, this is speculation, and badly thought out, too.Anklefear (talk) 00:19, 14 April 2009 (UTC)


 * Agree that this section seems to be missing text. War or no, the idea that his name was a mocking reference to a ship that had sunk more than 120 years previously would need some citation (as does the alternative attribution, to be honest). --GenericBob (talk) 03:46, 14 April 2009 (UTC)
 * His Swedish name can only refer to the the first king, (Gustav Vasa/Gustav I), and can not have had anything to do with the ship, which was NOT named after Gustav II Adolf (the grandson of Gustav Vasa), as that ship was known as "Vasen" (The Sheaf) until the early 20th century, when some decided to link the ship's name to the noble family and royal House of Vasa, which had a sheaf on their coat of arms. Thomas Blomberg (talk) 03:43, 28 August 2011 (UTC)

???
"For instance, Acholonu claims in her book to have interviewed living respondents in the 1980s who remembered growing up with Equiano before his capture in the mid-18th century."

This makes no sense what so ever, is this true? A source please! -- Ukabia (talk) 01:11, 10 May 2009 (UTC)ge t

Conversion section
This reads too much like a literary critical discussion. I removed the names of scholars and left them in reference citations. Tried to tone language to something more like an encyclopedia article.--Parkwells (talk) 19:24, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

Article is POV about religion
This is from the article:

"Sadly, in his weakened state he [Equiano] fell prey to the mental illness of religion. The other slaves fooled Equiano into believing that if he was not baptized, he would not be able to go to Heaven."

I don't know much about Equiano, but this passage is obviously very biased, so I'll replace it with a simple statement that he converted to Christianity.

things about olaudah equiano
he stop slavey —Preceding unsigned comment added by 209.80.156.37 (talk) 18:43, 16 December 2009 (UTC)

Birthplace Mistake
I noticed in the section titled "Early Life", the article says: "Olaudah Equiano was born in Alaska with Sandra Palin, an Igbo village in the kingdom of Benin..." This is clearly a mistake, possibly because of a "copy-paste" error, but Olaudah Equiano clearly was not born in Alaska. 66.82.9.82 (talk) 20:33, 10 December 2010 (UTC)Josh66.82.9.82 (talk) 20:33, 10 December 2010 (UTC)


 * Vandalism. Span (talk) 13:57, 29 December 2013 (UTC)

Release section
Portions of this section are incomplete, or simply confusing grammatically;

''He enabled Equiano to buy his freedom, which he achieved by his early twenties. King urged Equiano to stay on as a business. For instance, while loading a ship in Georgia, he was almost kidnapped back into slavery. He was released after proving his education. Equiano returned to Britain where, after the ruling in Somersett's Case of 1772, men believed they were free of the risk of enslavement. He was released in 1789.''

--sorry, I don't know how to get the quote to wrap

"King urged Equiano to stay on as a business....." what? I don't know if this was meant to read "business partner" but as it stands it makes no logical sense.

Then the next sentence begins with "For instance" when it does not follow at all the preceding sentence.

Ultimately the grammar is shaky at best - "men believed they were free" is a bit absurd, and "He was released in 1789" simply needs more information as it leaves all details obscure - from whom? by whom? by his own hand? After having claimed that Equiano would eventually "buy his [own] freedom"... all subsequent references are done in passive voice - "was released" as if someone else was responsible for the act...

If someone who has the proper info can clean this section up, I do apologize for just pointing out the problems, but I do not know the subject well enough to make honest alterations. 174.70.128.122 (talk) 04:56, 29 December 2013 (UTC)


 * Thanks for flagging it up. It is the remnant of old vandalism from many months ago and terrible writing from an article that badly needs an overhaul. I have reinstated the original paragraph. Span (talk) 14:12, 29 December 2013 (UTC)

Name?
Sometimes he is called Equiano, sometimes Vassa, often in the same section or paragraph. Should he be referred to as Vassa while he is a slave, or Equiano? Im really confused. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 90.200.34.230 (talk) 11:52, 19 October 2014 (UTC)

Additions
There were several things I noticed that were wrong with this page. I plan on adding a variety of wiki-links to words that the reader might need the definition too. I will also try to find reputable sources for all the places that indicate they need a citation. I will also change his name so he is referred to by the same name throughout the entire article. Lastly, the article states that his slave narrative was the first know slave narrative, and I don't think that is correct, so I am going to look more into it and correct it if necessary.

Zem Mitchell (talk) 01:15, 3 November 2015 (UTC)

Assessment comment
Substituted at 01:46, 30 April 2016 (UTC)

Prank
As I read the article, there are a lot of or in the article. I deleted those ones and improve other references. do you know who did this? If so, should this user or these users be blocked? -- Forever elementary student 3:55, 16 October 2017 (UTC)}}

Nigerian?
How is he Nigerian when there were no Nigerians in his lifetime since Nigeria didn't exist as a nation, state or country then? ~ Hairouna (talk) 14:54, 16 October 2017 (UTC)
 * Hi Hairouna, Thanks for your observation, I have removed the category from the article. Stanleytux (talk) 17:56, 16 October 2017 (UTC)
 * Thanks, Stanleytux! ~ Hairouna (talk) 21:07, 16 October 2017 (UTC)

If Equiano was born "c. 1745", as the article states, and was kindnapped around the age of 11, he can´t have been renamed in 1754. Please clarify 138.232.236.26 (talk) 14:42, 23 October 2017 (UTC)

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Removing unsourced material
Several edits were made recently removing unsourced material, namely regarding specific sites in Africa related to Equiano. Upon examination of sources, they were not found to support the claims, or the claims are under dispute by other sources and scholars. If anyone has a different reading of the sources, please cite relevant quotations here. Psmith85 (talk) 22:26, 24 January 2018 (UTC)

Since Drmies appears to be following my edits: what is being done is removing claims that are not supported by evidence. Many sources do not actually substantiate the claims. The sources were examined, and do not substantiate the claims. If you think they do, examine them yourself and provide supporting evidence for your position. Psmith85 (talk) 01:44, 26 January 2018 (UTC)
 * Pff. You can't even cite anything specific, but you did a nice job threatening while removing reliable sources. Your "dispute" comes from historynewsnetwork, whose authority remains to be seen. What is your problem with the sources? with which sources? why? Drmies (talk) 01:47, 26 January 2018 (UTC)


 * Editor made mention of Carretta (who is discussed in the article) and other scholars. These seem to be reliable sources that substantiate the existence of a dispute.Ptb011985 (talk) 21:22, 7 February 2018 (UTC)
 * User Stanleytux is making edits to talk page and attempting to erase the discussion. What happened to substantively answering the points? Drmies also seems dismissive of legitimate questions. Can we get a real discussion here? Ptb011985 (talk) 03:35, 8 February 2018 (UTC)

Lead - "freed slave"?
Shouldn't this read "formerly enslaved" or "ex-slave" rather than "freed slave" since Equiano liberated himself through self-purchase? MassiveEartha (talk) 02:20, 26 January 2018 (UTC)
 * thanks--I made a tweak. See what you think. If you don't like it, type it out better than I did! ;) Drmies (talk) 03:25, 26 January 2018 (UTC)
 * thanks for the feedback, made a couple of changes to the lead. MassiveEartha (talk) 05:17, 26 January 2018 (UTC)

Equaino and Capitalism
This biography is not the place for an explanation of capitalism. Slavery and Capitalism may have been linked but an explanation of this would be more suitable for articles titled "West african slave trade" or "triangle trade" or "Atlantic slave trade". Much of the analysis presented is irrelevant, parts of it are conjecture such as "Capitalism extended globally due to new forms of transportation, permitting the expanded sale of slaves across the Atlantic"; why capitalism, why not the British Empire? Following an Atlantic slave trade link would be sufficient. Other sections are factual but backwards: "Equiano earned money through the short supply and high demand for clerks in Philadelphia" should be "Equiano was able to earn money as a clerk in Philadelphia, where there was a short supply of able workers" ... " Enslaved, Equiano formed a part of the capitalist system which categorized him as a salable item"; this would be obvious to anyone who knows what a slave is, a hyperlink to the relevant page would suffice.

165.225.81.69 (talk) 15:05, 7 June 2019 (UTC)


 * I agree with this statement. If no further comments can be made, this section should be deleted for being irrelevant or needing its own section in an examples of socialism page. It has no place on this page as someone who had nothing to do with socialism. .Gormanmod 09:38, 02 August 2019 (EST)

Orphaned references in Olaudah Equiano
I check pages listed in Category:Pages with incorrect ref formatting to try to fix reference errors. One of the things I do is look for content for orphaned references in wikilinked articles. I have found content for some of Olaudah Equiano's orphans, the problem is that I found more than one version. I can't determine which (if any) is correct for this article, so I am asking for a sentient editor to look it over and copy the correct ref content into this article.

Reference named "Lovejoy": From Slavery:  From Atlantic slave trade: Lovejoy, Paul E. Transformations in Slavery. Cambridge University Press, 2000. From Osifekunde:  

I apologize if any of the above are effectively identical; I am just a simple computer program, so I can't determine whether minor differences are significant or not. AnomieBOT ⚡ 02:56, 16 October 2019 (UTC)

V2
Please see halfway through paragraph 2 of the cited source: "The Church was rebuilt in 1957/1958 after it had been destroyed during WWII by a German V2 rocket on 25 March 1945". Martin of Sheffield (talk) 16:56, 9 April 2021 (UTC)
 * I had seen that. However, you claimed that Equiano's burial place was lost then and that is not in the cited source. (Quite possibly it was lost within a generation of his burial) Nedrutland (talk) 17:06, 9 April 2021 (UTC)
 * O, whatever. Martin of Sheffield (talk) 17:12, 9 April 2021 (UTC)

Olaudah Equiano
Equiano was enslaved as a young man.He bought his freedom, and worked as an author and explorer in America. 41.113.186.196 (talk) 10:22, 21 June 2022 (UTC)

Presence in Wareham, Dorset
I came across this reference to an African of the same name in a locally published book:

Look Back and Celebrate: the Story of Methodism in Wareham (2001, no ISBN), by Margaret James:

"Sometime in 1793 or early 1794, George Smith came from Poole to Wareham to hold an open air service on the Bowling Green near the north east wall. There he was faced by a violently hostile mob. Mud and stones were flung at him and his hymn book was knocked out of his hand but he was uninjured. A converted African, by the name of Gustavus Vassa, came to his defence almost as a bodyguard, and warded off the blows. Alas, nothing more is known about this interesting and unusual hero. Unfortunately, in the confusion, a young woman standing in the crowd with a little child was injured, and George Smith flew to her rescue and himself carried the child away to safety. When he got back to his lodgings he was still bespattered with mud. Subsequently, the ruffian stone had injured the young woman, and the other ring leaders were brought before the local magistrates, and George Smith appeared as a witness against them. He was called to pay part of the court dues. He had very little money on him but he emptied out his pockets. As the coins scattered on the floor there was not nearly enough and the people laughed and scoffed. However one of the magistrates took pity on him and told the whole Court that the Wesleyans had the right to protection in their worship and that he would, in future, be ready to to grant this. This magistrate was himself a clergyman. Perhaps he was the local rector and this could be an early foretaste of good ecumenical relations which developed in later years. George Smith never, as far as is known, returned to Wareham."

The account of the court proceedings seems to be taken from this source in an [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=nyp.33433082271945&view=1up&seq=19 obituary of George Smtih, which does not mention Gustavus. Otherwise, it's not possible to track the Gustavus reference in the book's end citations.

Any sources to confirm his identity and presence at this event? Shtove (talk) 14:29, 22 July 2022 (UTC)