How Olaudah Equiano's Narrative, the Interesting Life of Olaudah Equiano, Relates to 1700 European Society

In his autobiography, The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, Olaudah Equiano provides the reader with an inside perspective of the life of an African slave in the 18th century, compares and contrasts the societies and social structures of Europe and the Caribbean, and illustrates significant differences between Caribbean and African forms of slavery.

Although it was different and distinguishable from the corporate society of Europe, the societal structure of the Caribbean during slavery in the 18th century had some similarities to the European model of society. In Topic 2 notes on The Western World, we can see that the basic structure in Europe was a division of “Three Estates:” the clergy, the nobility, and the commons . Each of these classes had a specific role in society, and there was an important relationship of “reciprocity,” where estate members depended on others for unequal but interdependent tasks and positions held . As seen in the Topic 3 notes on the Atlantic World, the class structure in the Caribbean had three divisions, also in the form of a layered hierarchy, consisting of the following: Europeans, free people of color, and slaves . In contrasting the two social structures, Europe’s system was decided by the title one was born into, and the Caribbean’s was very heavily dependent on race. The class system allowed for slaves to move up in society as a free person of color, but this was a difficult status for one to achieve. In the Caribbean, slaves were sometimes able to learn different skill sets and crafts, which is illustrated by Olaudah Equiano’s success as a sailor, a soldier, and profitable trader at sea. Acquiring these different skills were very beneficial for slaves, as they contributed to their worth, and in Equiano’s case, allowed them to save enough money to potentially buy their way out of slavery and become free people of color. Although it was possible to be a free person of color in the Caribbean, this didn’t necessarily ensure ultimate freedom. While under his master, Richard King, and on board with Captain Thomas Farmer, Equiano recalls a time when Joseph Clipson, a “very clever and decent free young mulatto-man” who had been at sea with Equiano and Pascal for a long time, was taken by force into slavery by a “Bermudas captain” . Clipson had many people on board to testify to his freedom, and he even showed documentation to prove he was born a free man in St. Kitt’s, but he was taken from their vessel and forced into slavery without any hearing among the government or hope of regaining his freedom . In this situation, Equiano’s eyes are opened to the injustice done to free Negroes in the West Indies, as their papers and documentation of freedom are meaningless in court, their freedom is being constantly mocked, and they “live in constant alarm for their liberty” . Equiano states that he is not surprised that slaves prefer slavery to this mockery