Olaudah Equiano's narrative is an intelligently written piece that was written for a European society in a time of predominantly white superiority. His autobiography walks a fine line between portraying an accurate image of the African-American slave experience and producing a work that will not offend or shock European society. This is accomplished through a combination of unprejudiced wording, limited details, and references to positive images. This work is a good primary source about the slave trade because it provides an accurate picture of what happened and what the Africans were thinking as they endured the trip. However, the picture is not interpreted as easily as expected. Due to Equiano's European audience, it is necessary to understand the positive spin of this report and interpret it as a watered down version of the true sufferings.

There are several important reasons that Equiano's narrative should be considered a good primary source when dealing with the middle passage and slavery in the Americas. The most important

Equiano's narrative is a good source paper about the middle passage and slavery in the Americas because the facts are given and Equiano's age allowed him to see different situations for comparison. The only hang up about this writing is the audience for which it was written. If this narrative is read closely, it is possible to understand better what the middle passage was like and what the prisoners thought as they made their voyage. Equiano uses every way he can to make this work more suitable for mainstream European society. He is hoping that this paper will open people's eyes to the atrocities that was the slave trade. He is careful not to offend anyone or let anyone get defensive toward his story, but we have to recognize this and interpret the work knowing the context in which it was written. As long as this narrative is read closely, it is an informative source that is invaluable because it is one of the few texts that was written by an African who was part of the whole movement. We can better understand what these people were thinking and how they reacted to a hopeless situation.

All this helped understand what a trip on a slave ship from Africa to America was like, but the part that makes this narrative a great source is that it tells us what African prisoners were thinking. Equiano begins his journey by explaining the terror of being put on the ship. He did not know who the Europeans were or what his fate was going to be. The prisoners thought they would be killed or eaten. It is a scary thought that home will never be seen again. The Africans saw a magical, superstitious side to the Europeans and their ways of life. By not knowing who these men were or where they were from, the Africans were in awe of them. They did not understand how the boat moved, and were even more amazed when it stopped in the water. They did not understand why the sailors wasted the fish meat instead of giving it to the hungry prisoners. They did not understand this heartlessness. In Barbados, the prisoners thought they would be eaten, judging by the way that they were looked all over. The market was

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Approximate Word count = 1431
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)