Equiano the African: Biography of a Self-Made Man

Abstract

Vincent Carretta's biography of Olaudah Equiano must be one of the most provocative recent books of Atlantic history. The study expounds on Carretta's startling revelation over the past decade of documentary evidence that contradicts Equiano's claim, in his autobiography first published in 1789, that he was born in Africa. Carretta believes that Equiano's “accounts of Africa and the Middle Passage … were constructed … rather than actually experienced and that [Equiano] probably invented an African identity” (pp. xiv–xv). This book's contribution is mixed. The study is the product of a devoted researcher, skilled and courageous in contextualizing the various angles of Equiano's remarkable life. Carretta's digressions into the comparative history of slavery, eighteenth-century British political economy, background information on Equiano's key associates, and warfare and naval service increases our knowledge of the Atlantic world. Easily the most knowledgeable living Equiano scholar, Carretta rediscovered forgotten writings of Equiano, including several editions of his autobiography (p. xv). In terms of recognizing and tracking useful sources on the numerous branches of Equiano's trail, Carretta's work represents an awesome effort.

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