There are many different definitions of freedom. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines freedom as “the quality or state of being free as: the absence of necessity, coercion, or constraint in choice or action” and “liberation from slavery or restraint or from the power of another.” While this definition describes what most slaves wished to achieve during their life of servitude, Olaudah Equiano saw freedom as something more. In his autobiography The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano or Gustavus Vassa, the African Equiano describes his life and how he viewed slavery and freedom. For Equiano freedom was controlled by God’s will. Throughout his life, Equiano was able to see firsthand the difference between freedom as seen through the eyes of slaves and freedom through the eyes of Europeans as well as his own changing ideas of freedom.
Throughout his life, Equiano had been exposed to slavery. As a boy he would see his father and others in his village go to war and their prisoners would become slaves in their village. It was that way throughout much of Africa. Europeans, however, treated their slaves very differently than Africans did. In Africa, slaves became a part of the village and family, whereas Europeans treated their slaves as animals and property. To Equiano freedom was a natural right that he had never dreamed would be taken from him. When Equiano was taken from his home he had no idea the horrors he would be exposed to throughout his life. His entire world was turned upside down and his ideas of freedom began to change. He began to see that freedom was not something that he was privileged to, as he believed before. Instead it was something that could be taken away by another. Many times he had wished for death so that he could escape the horrors of slavery.
Once enslaved, Equiano was introduced to Christianity and was baptized as such. Throughout his life as a slave he maintained his belief in God and God’s will. Equiano strongly believed that if it was God’s will to make Equiano a free man it would happen. He also believed that if God wished him to remain a slave, there was nothing Equiano could do to change that. Equiano worked toward doing his part to please God in order for God to allow him to become a free man. He maintained his faith and continued to work hard for his masters and in part for himself all the while hoping that some day he would become a free man.
Equiano shared his beliefs of freedom with many other slaves. No person wishes to be held in bondage and forced away from family in order to work for another against their will. Slaves would go to extremes in order to obtain their freedom. Some would purchase their freedom if they had the privilege of having a master who would be willing to sell them, others would run away or even wish for death just so that they could be free from their Hell. Equiano was lucky to have been able to purchase his freedom from his master. Many slaves died in their efforts to obtain their freedom that they believed was a right that they were entitled to. Europeans had a similar idea of freedom, but since they were not the ones being enslaved it was slightly different. For a slave, freedom was deeper than the dictionary definition. It meant not being oppressed and able to defend yourself and your family without fear of death. “When you make men slaves you deprive them of half their virtue” (Equiano, ).
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