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Born in the Ibo village of Essaka in what is now Nigeria,
Equiano was sold at the age of eleven to British slavers,
transported first to Barbados and then to a plantation in
Virginia. While living in Philadelphia in 1766, Equiano purchased
his freedom from his third owner and left America for good,
spending much of the rest of his life in London. He supported
himself as a free servant, barber, and musician; lectured
on abolitionism; and traveled to such countries as Turkey,
Italy, and Nicaragua. Though he referred to himself as "the
African" and longed to set foot on his homeland once
more, he was never able to return. The Interesting Narrative
of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa,
the African, was published in London in 1789 and printed
in New York in 1791.
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