Basically, each tribe or village group was a mini- warlike st have prepa ablaze(p) to erupt in battle at the slightest provocation from other districts or states. Through the trade of slaves and the movement of merchants, Equiano's people were able to obtain objects of war they did not even up themselves, like gunpowder and guns, "These [markets] are some cadences visited by intrepid mahog each-colored men from the south-west of us: we call them Oye-Eboe, which term signifies the red men living at a distance. They generally work us fire-arms, gun-powder, hats, beads, and dried fish" (Equiano 38). In such an environs as this, Equiano's people exist in a practical(prenominal) theatre of war, where their arms accompany them on all of their insouciant tasks, like working the fields. No matter what gender, what age, or what arrest of health, all of Equiano's people are prepared for military meshing from a young age. However, the arms they accustom and the necessity of warring were introduced to them from external peoples, "We have fire-arms, bows and arrows, broad two-edged swords and javelins; we have shields also which back a man from head to foot. All are taught the use of these weapons; even our women are warriors" (Equiano 40).
evelations in this book that there was a major difference between being a slave in west Africa and being one aboard British slave ships. In Tinmah, the almost beautiful country in Africa experienced by Equiano, he is a slave but is treated with a genuine measure of respect and humansity. For instance, he is sold to a merchant who is friends with a wealthy widow who has an only son.
The son is a young man close in age to Equiano and the interposition of him by the widow is of such a nature that during his time there he forgets his enslaved condition, "The next day I was wash and perfumed, and when meal time came, I was led into the presence of my mistress, and ate and drank before her with her son?I could scarcely help expressing my storm that the young gentleman should suffer me, who was bound, to eat with him who was free; and not only so, but that he would not at any time either eat or drink work on I had taken first, because I was the eldest, which was agreeable to our custom" (Equiano 52).
Equiano, O. The elicit Narrative of the Life of Oluadah Equiano. Allison, R. J. (Ed.). Bedford Books, Boston, Massachusetts, 1995.
In conclusion, the testimony given by Equiano in this book has expanded my conscious awareness of what the Atlantic slave trade and West Africa were all about in the eighteenth century. By and large, slaves were considered to be the space of other human beings as much as the women in Equiano's village were considered the property of their fathers and then husbands. However, what is shocking
Order your essay at Orderessay and get a 100% original and high-quality custom paper within the required time frame.
No comments:
Post a Comment