Olaudah Equiano is one of the most enduring black writers from the eighteenth century. Born in what is now Nigeria, and sold into slavery aged 11, Equiano was a personal servant to a British Royal Navy officer, and later an English merchant, until he bought his freedom for £40. After working as an explorer and a merchant, he then settled in England and became a prominent agitator for the abolition of slavery. His memoir, The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa the African, was published in 1789 and gave a first-hand account of his life and the horrors of slavery. It was an immediate success and catapulted Equiano into literary celebrity. He was able to become wealthy from the royalties and travelled widely, using the book to campaign against slavery. Equiano, along with fellow writer Ottobah Cugoano, was a founding member of the Sons of Africa, an abolitionist group in Britain made of African men, and continually used his voice in the press to sway public opinion towards an anti-slavery stance.
