Olaudah Equiano

Olaudah Equiano was born in 1745 in the former Kingdom of Benin. Sold into slavery at the age of ten, he purchased his freedom as an adult and became a leading figure in the abolitionist movement. His memoir The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, published in 1789, was a bestseller and went through nine different editions. He died in 1797.