The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano is an interesting book about the experiences of a slave who was taken from African and shipped to the Americas. This work is a primary source, meaning that it was written by a person who experienced a certain time. With that in mind, it can be used by anyone who wants to understand the period of slavery from the perspective of a person who was actually there. When reading primary sources, though, it is important to recognize context. Secondary sources can help one understand the historical context in which a primary source was put together, adding to the understanding of any person doing the reading.

This particular source was written around 1789. It was an autobiography, which suggests that it was written, at least in part, over the course of many years leading up to 1789. During this time, a number of things were going on both in Africa and the Americas. In Africa, one of the most important issues going on at this time was colonialism. By this time, European powers had figured out that Africa had a number of different natural resources, including diamonds, which could be exploited for extreme profits (Eltis & Richardson, 2010). Likewise, the slave trade was robust, with slaves being sold into slavery off of the West Coast of Africa and shipped to the Americas. While it was common for some African tribes to sell their prisoners to Western traders, it was also common for Western traders to simply kidnap slaves.

In the United States, the context surrounding this time was also quite interesting. This was just after the American Revolution. After America declared independence and won its war against Great Britain, the country had to put together a system of government and write a constitution. This happened in the years leading up to 1789, so there was a period of political consternation taking place throughout the country. While there is often an assumption that the constitution passed without issue, the truth is that there was much in-fighting that took place between the various factions on how to govern the nation. When the author wrote his book, America was in the process of discovering its identity.

Perhaps more relevant to this primary source document is the fact that slavery was a social norm in the American South during this period (Mullin, 1992). The North had just begun to develop, and with the Industrial Revolution, the North was moving toward a different kind of economy. In the South, though, agriculture reigned supreme, and those people lucky enough to own plantations controlled the political power in this part of the world. With that in mind, the only way that they could compete was by acquiring cheap labor and exploiting it (Eltis, 2000). This is one of the realities that one discovers when studying the context of this particular time. During late eighteenth century America, slave owners were feeling quite secure in their ability to own slaves. The country had not yet splintered on the issue, even though some countries throughout the world were starting to abandon the practice of slavery. A few decades later, America’s slaveowners would face a challenge, but at the time of this book’s writing, they were able to do pretty much whatever they wanted in this regard. This is perhaps a big part of the reason why slaveowners were more than willing to abuse, beat, rape, and pillage their slaves, all in the name of economic prosperity. It was a brutal time to be a black person in the United States, even if one happened to be free.