Equiano's Awareness of His Lowly Essay

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Even with that, the fact that Equiano came across several supportive masters across his life as a slave was essential in making him better prepared to deal with conditions in a society that was generally inclined to favor white individuals in favor of black people.

Matters were critical for slaves living at the time, especially for those working on plantations set on the American continent, with their masters being willing to work them to death, certain that black people were easily replaceable and that their only value was related to their capability to generate incomes through using physical power. Equiano is responsible for showing the world that black people were not actually as inferior as most people preferred to believe. His intellect made him a respected individual, one that was better prepared to deal with issues related to discrimination. Even when he was mistaken for a slave (at the time when he wanted to go to England to take advantage of his freedom), the way he spoke and his ability to put across rational reasoning assisted him in being released.

Equiano was experienced in business affairs involving the European society and as a result devised a plan meant to benefit Europe and Africa alike. From his perspective, investing in Africa would provide Europeans with large revenues. Similarly, Africans would live in better conditions as a result of putting their physical and mental power to work by collaborating with the Europeans. "Population, the bowels, and surface of Africa, abound in valuable and useful returns; the hidden treasures of centuries would be brought to light and into circulation" (Equiano 179).

The writer saw the potential that the African continent had and was determined to exploit its capacity to provide itself and Europe with large incomes. Equiano was certain that there were numerous industries that could be taken advantage of in Africa, each of them waiting to be accessed by a European merchant. He stressed the importance of abolishing slavery as an essential part of the collaboration that was to be started between Africans and Europeans.

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Africans would apparently be more interested in improving the industry if they were presented with the opportunity to profit from the business. Consequent to that, Europeans would recognize that slavery is wrong because of the fact that it makes Africans less interested in putting across dedication.

Equiano's main focus was related to proving that it would actually be profitable to abolish slavery, with this being better for society as a whole both from a financial point-of-view and from a moral perspective. His involvement in the trade business and one of the reasons for which he initially earned large amounts of money stands as evidence that he was well aware of his situation and of the fact that he could not experience progress if he returned to his homeland without becoming a part of the European society and of the white community in general. One can actually claim that Equiano was more interested in improving conditions for his people than in improving his own life.

Olaudah Equiano's autobiography is proof that he regretted that society was yet to abolish the institution of slavery. In spite of the fact that he did not manage to put an end to slavery however, his accounts made people realize the wrongness of exploiting human beings. One would certainly feel somewhat guilty when becoming acquainted with the horrors that people were capable of during the slavery period.

It is very unlikely that Equiano could have managed to bring the assistance that he did to the abolitionist movement if he were to refrain from cooperating with Europeans even with the fact that the European society was responsible for destroying the lives of several million African individuals. In addition to his talent in doing business, he was endowed with the ability to recognize the potential in people. He realized that the very society that enslaved his people could be one of the main factors in putting an end to slavery.

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