1745-1797. African anti-slavery campaigner
and writer. He travelled widely both as a
slave and a free man. His autobiography, The
Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah
Equiano or Gustavus Vassa the African 1789,
is one of the earliest significant works by
an African written in English. Equiano was
born near the river Niger in what is now
Nigeria, captured at the age of ten and sold
to slavers, who transported him to the West
Indies. He learned English and bought his
freedom at the age of 21. He subsequently
sailed to the Mediterranean and the Arctic,
before being appointed commissary of stores
for freed slaves returning to Sierra Leone.
He was an active campaigner against slavery.