Equiano’s Travel
Olaudah Equiano was a Nigerian who was kidnapped and sold to slave traders when he was just eleven years old. He spent most of his time in slavery serving captains of slave ships and other British navy vessels. This gave him an opportunity to travel widely while transporting slaves to various parts of the world and mostly in America and Europe. When Equiano was baptized and eventually joined Christianity, his life transformed and his relationship with God became more prominent. Religion played a critical role in his life as God protected him in many instances throughout his journey. Religion also made him see the sufferings that slaves were exposed to and eventually supported abolition of slave trade.
Equiano established a relationship with God as a reflection of the dangers he had encountered on his journey. This was a way of thanking God for having directed and guided him. Equiano felt he was sinful for being involved in some of the activities in the ship and strongly believed the only way to get to heaven would be by accepting salvation. Previously, he had interacted with people who had accepted Christ as their savior and had seen the happiness they experienced. Equiano was also aware that he could not enter the kingdom of heaven without being saved. In addition, it was not easy to keep the ten commandments of God without allowing Christ to be your savior.
After salvation, Equiano continued with his adventures using the ship where he was again assisting the captain of the ship in slave trade. He experienced the power of God who protected him from accidents. He was involved in a situation where the ship hit a rock when it was about to dock. People were confused and cried for God’s mercy. Equiano did not have any fear of death because as a Christian he was a firm believer that death would promote him to glory. He believed that Christ would protect him in such trying moments and convinced others that they should also embrace Christianity in order to be safe in their journeys. Providence was experienced when the ship did not sink even after hitting such a rock. God intervened and prevented the ship from sinking and this could only be associated with the strong belief Equiano had in Christ since he trusted His faithfulness and power.
Equiano dreamt of God’s providence when He saved a ship from sinking. Equiano was among the people who rescued the occupants of the boat who confessed and thanked God for delivering them. His relationship with God was seen when he prayed and thanked Him for such a righteous act (Equiano 136). It was through his religious belief that Equiano was able to inform the captain, who was saved from the sinking ship, on the providence of God. All the eleven Portuguese found themselves in a boat when the vessel they were travelling in sank. This was indeed mysterious and proved that those who trusted in God would always be saved from such accidents.
Through religion, Equiano was able to influence and convert the non-believers into accepting Christ as their sole savior. For instance, when he was aboard the Morning Star he convinced Captain David Miller on the doctrines of Christianity. The captain adopted the habit of praying before eating and joining Equiano in prayers before going to sleep. In addition, the role of religion in Equiano’s life was seen when he was hospitalized in St. George’s hospital in London. (Equiano 47).The doctors insisted to cut his leg off but through God’s intervention, he recovered without being operated.
Religion enabled Equiano to become a Christian missionary where he was significant in the spread of gospel about Christ and the need for people to have a close relationship with God. In 1775, Equiano travelled to Nicaragua as a Christian missionary. He was accompanying Dr. Irving who was on a mission to establish a large plantation on the Mosquito Coast (Equiano 148). Equiano was ready to use his knowledge on Christianity to preach to preach and convert the Indian population into Christians. This was only possible because he had embraced religion and God as the protector.
Like many other Christians, Equiano was touched by the sufferings experienced by slaves in the hands of their masters. Although he did not experience such suffering since he obeyed his masters, he strongly opposed slavery by engaging in the establishment of the British Abolitionist Movement in 1788 when he petitioned Queen Charlotte to end slavery in England (Equiano 139). His background in religion made him support the abolition of slave trade until his death in 1797.
The many dangers that Equiano escaped as a sailor made him to reflect deeply on the type of life he would want to live after death. The fear of death and eternity occupied his mind and the only solution was to develop a close relationship with God. As he studied the Bible, he realized that God was full of grace and mercy and had a chance to prove this through his journeys with slave masters. He was a firm believer in the invisible hand of God that guided and protected him in his journeys. This attitude made Equiano to view those who did not believe in Christ as being without hope and God. He also believed that Christ died to save mankind and that slavery in Earth and spiritual salvation were better than earthly freedom and spiritual death. Equiano preached to his colleagues in the ship and had many of the non-believers converted to Christianity. As a missionary, Equiano preached to the Indians to be believers of Christ. In addition, the strong relationship with God made Equiano to be saved from many accidents as a sailor and his leg was healed without any operation.
Work Cited
Equiano Olaudah. The Life of Olaudah Equiano. New York: Cosimo, 2009.
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