Coming this Saturday, a Highland Views column on the life and journeys of an enslaved African whose narrative was published in 1789 and became a bestseller:

Olaudah Equiano: Slave, Sailor, Scribe

An excerpt from the column on this remarkable man:

“The youngest of seven children, Olaudah was especially beloved by his mother who encouraged him to be a protector, a warrior. At the age of eleven he would climb a tree to watch over other village children while their parents were in the fields. One day kidnappers arrived and the children ran. Equiano and his sister were captured. He saw his sister one more time, but cruelly never saw his family again. He was taken aboard a slave ship bound for Barbados, then Virginia and on to England. He had several masters and captains on his many sea voyages through the years. Learning to read after thinking he could “talk to the books,” he grew to be an essential part of any crew.”

For more information on him:

Olaudah Equiano