The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or, Gustavus Vassa, the African

THE INTERESTING NARRATIVE OF THE LIFE OF OLAUDAH EQUIANO, OR GUSTAVUS VASSA, THE AFRICAN is a first-hand account of one man's capture, enslavement, and redeption.  Born in modern-day Nigeria into the Igbo people, Olaudah Equiano was kidnapped along with his sister at age eleven and eventually sold to European slave traders and taken to Barbados.  After a brief stint there, he was transported to Virginia, where he witnessed the cruel treatment of slaves on the tobacco plantations there. 

Equiano was owned by a number of masters, some cruel, and others more kindly.  He was eventually afforded the opportunity to purchase his freedom.  Fearing reinslavement, he migrated to England where he became active in the abolition movement.  His experiences form one of the first published slave narratives in English.