Question

Is "The Life of Olaudah Equiano" by Olaudah Equiano a reliable source?

Answer 1

Answer:

YES ,

Explanation:

From the 16th to the 18th centuries, an estimated 20 million Africans crossed the Atlantic to the Americas in the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Until recently, slave studies rarely discussed children's experiences, but it has been estimated that one quarter of the slaves who crossed the Atlantic were children. Olaudah Equiano, kidnapped at age 11, became one of the most prominent English abolitionists of the 18th century. His narrative is extremely valuable not only for the wealth of information it presents on children's experiences in the slave trade, but also for those examining the abolitionist movement in England during this period of time.

Many Africans who survived the coffles and made their way to the coast had never seen a white man, let alone the ocean or a slave ship. For Equiano, a child of 11, this experience was one he could not understand. What is particularly important about this source, however, is Equiano's placement into the hold of the slave ship. As a child, he should have traveled the Middle Passage on deck, unfettered with the slave women and children. Yet, Equiano was put in the hold with the adults, giving him a different experience entirely.