Olaudah Equiano’s capture by slave-traders at the age of ten took him from life in what is now Eastern Nigeria and thrust him on a fateful journey that would submerge him in an incomprehensible world. He emerged a gifted writer and has provided insights into centuries of slave trading and why the relationship between black and white seems always in favor of white.

First published in 1789, Equiano’s engaging narrative, written in English, describes his life before and after his capture—looking forward to recognition as a descendant of a chief; working on slave ships; traveling to the southern states of America, the West Indies, Europe, and the Arctic; and fighting a war. He eventually grew to be an extremely confident man who, even in the worst slavery imaginable, never lost his sense of purpose or his humanity. After buying his freedom, he was an ardent supporter of abolishing slavery. Written with a sense of literary history, Equiano’s account corrects wrong impressions about Africa and explores what it is like for an African to find himself suddenly alien in a world that considers Africans as not quite human.