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Olaudah Equiano (c. 1745 – 31 March 1797),〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Olaudah Equiano (c. 1745 – 31 March 1797) )〕 known in his lifetime as Gustavus Vassa (),〔 was a prominent African in London, a freed slave who supported the British movement to end the slave trade. His autobiography, published in 1789 and attracting wide attention, was considered highly influential in gaining passage of the Slave Trade Act 1807, which ended the African trade for Britain and its colonies. Since the late 20th century, there has been some debate on his origins, but most of his account has been extensively documented.〔It is likely Olaudah was from the ancient Igwedom of Onitsha (Onicha Ado N'idu) ("Olaudah Equiano (c. 1745-1797) ), Historical Figures, BBC, 2014, accessed 28 September 2014.〕 His last master was Robert King, an American Quaker merchant who allowed Equiano to trade on his own account and purchase his freedom in 1766. Equiano settled in England in 1767 and worked and traveled for another 20 years as a seafarer, merchant, and explorer in the Caribbean, the Arctic, the American colonies, South and Central America, and the United Kingdom. In London, Equiano (identifying as Gustavus Vassa during his lifetime) was part of the Sons of Africa, an abolitionist group composed of prominent Africans living in Britain, and he was active among leaders of the anti-slave trade movement in the 1780s. He published his autobiography, ''The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano'' (1789), which depicted the horrors of slavery. The first-known slave narrative, it went through nine editions and aided passage of the British Slave Trade Act of 1807, which abolished the African slave trade. Since 1967, his memoir has been regarded as the "true beginning of modern African literature".〔O. S. Ogede, ("'The Igbo Roots of Olaudah Equiano' by Catherine Acholonu" ), ''Africa: Journal of the International African Institute,'' Vol. 61, No. 1, 1991, at JSTOR 〕 As a free man, Equiano had a stressful life; he had suffered suicidal thoughts before he became a born-again Christian and found peace in his faith. After settling in London, in 1792 Equiano married an English woman named Susannah Cullen and they had two daughters. He died in 1797 in London; his gravesite is unknown. Equiano's death was recognized in Britain as well as by American newspapers.〔"DEATHS: In London, Mr. Gustavus Vassa, the African, well known to the public for the interesting narrative of his life."] ''Weekly Oracle'' (New London, CT), 12 August 1797, p. 3.〕 Plaques commemorating his life have been placed at buildings where he lived in London. Since the late 20th century, when his autobiography was published in a new edition, he has been increasingly studied by a range of scholars, including many from Nigeria. ==Early life and enslavement== According to his own account, Olaudah Equiano was born in 1745 to the Igbo people in the region now known as Nigeria. His name, Olaudah, means "one who has a loud voice and is well spoken", and signifies good fortune. He was the youngest son, with six brothers and sisters. His father was a man of dignity, given the title "Embrenché" (modern Igbo: ''mgburichi''), a man whom he remembers bearing scarifications on his forehead, which signified his father's status. Equiano expected to receive such scarification when he came of age among the males of his community. Equiano recollects his mother teaching him self-defence, and he witnessed her taking part in communal wars. His mother particularly impressed on him the religious rites of his community. She often carried him along to an ancestral shrine in the wild where his maternal grandmother was buried; she would give offerings to the shrine and weep by its side. Equiano said his early life was filled with what his people considered good omens or mysterious signs; for instance, he was on a path in his village when he accidentally stood on a large snake but was left unharmed. Equiano recounted an incident when an attempted kidnapping of children was thwarted by adults in his villages. When he was around the age of eleven, he and his sister were left alone to look after their family's compound, as was common when adults went out of the house for work. They were both kidnapped and taken far away from their hometown, separated, and sold to slave traders. After changing hands several times, Equiano met his sister again, but they were separated and he was taken over a large river to the coast, where he was held by European slave traders.〔 He was transported with 244 other enslaved Africans across the Atlantic Ocean to Barbados in the West Indies. He and a few other slaves were sent on to the British colony of Virginia. Literary scholar Vincent Carretta argued in his 2005 biography of Equiano that the activist may have been born in colonial South Carolina rather than Africa based on Carretta's discovery of a 1759 parish baptismal record and a 1773 ship's muster, both of which list Equiano's place of birth as South Carolina.〔Robin Blackburn, ("The True Story of Equiano" ), ''The Nation'', 2 November 2005 (archived), accessed 28 September 2014 〕 A number of scholars agree with Carretta, while his conclusion is disputed by other scholars who believe the weight of evidence supports Equiano's account of coming from Igboland. In Virginia, Equiano was bought in 1754 by Michael Pascal, a lieutenant in the Royal Navy. Pascal renamed the boy as "Gustavus Vassa," after the Swedish noble who had become Gustav I of Sweden, king in the 16th century.〔 Equiano had already been renamed twice: he was called Michael while on the slave ship that brought him to the Americas; and Jacob, by his first owner. This time Equiano refused and told his new owner that he would prefer to be called Jacob. His refusal, he says, "gained me many a cuff" – and eventually he submitted to the new name.〔 He used this name for the rest of his life, including on all official records. He only used Equiano in his autobiography.〔 Equiano wrote in his narrative that domestic slaves in Virginia were treated cruelly and suffered punishments such as the "iron muzzle" (scold's bridle), which was used to keep house slaves quiet, leaving them unable to speak or eat. He thought that the eyes of portraits followed him wherever he went, and that a clock could tell his master about anything Equiano did wrong. Shocked by this culture, Equiano tried washing his face in an attempt to change its colour. Pascal took Equiano with him when he returned to England, and had him accompany him as a valet during the Seven Years' War with France. Also trained in seamanship, Equiano was expected to assist the ship's crew in times of battle; his duty was to haul gunpowder to the gun decks. Pascal favoured Equiano and sent him to his sister-in-law in Great Britain, so that the youth could attend school and learn to read and write. At this time, Equiano converted to Christianity. He was baptized in St Margaret's, Westminster, in February 1759. His godparents were Mary Guerin and her brother, Maynard, who were cousins of his master Pascal. They had taken an interest in him and helped him to learn English. Later, when Vassa's origins were questioned after his book was published, the Guerins testified to his lack of English when he first came to London.〔 Despite some special treatment, after the British won the war, Equiano did not receive a share of the prize money, as was awarded to the regular crew. Pascal had promised his freedom, but did not release him. Pascal sold Equiano to Captain James Doran of the ''Charming Sally'' at Gravesend, from where he was transported back to the Caribbean, to Montserrat, in the Leeward Islands. There he was sold to Robert King, an American Quaker merchant from Philadelphia who traded in the Caribbean. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Olaudah Equiano」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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