Continuation of a thought from essay 5

Equiano's contemporaries often labeled him a black genius positioning him as unique within his race rather than necessarily a representative of his potential of his achievement. It was important then and now, to acknowledge, and to celebrate Equiano's genius. Do you think of those that thought of him as a genius, avoid having to acknoledge the shifting class basis of racial formulations during this time?

essay 5

When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness

(Jefferson, Declaration of Independence).

           Happiness, safety, free worship of one’s choice to worship God and good government are forms of freedom? The spiritual climate of the late Eighteenth Century was dictating the climate of the intellectual sensitivities of the century. The French Revolution was grappling these climates into the declared voice of “public opinion”, opening an entirely new voice of one not heard before. “In the Enlightenment world of ’noble savages’, indigenous noble descendants of Aztecs and Incas were overdue for an re-evaluation of their nobility”(Falola&Roberts, pg. 182). The desire of independence from tyranny  was in the will of the new American peoples and many of those that would call themselves Europeans. One such man was Oulaudah Equiano.
    Upon reading The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Oulaudah Equiano, my eyes were open to who he really was.  Oulaudah Equiano was a slave involuntarily, but his life as a sailor was not. He was able to handle himself at any task once on board. There are many similarities between the two, but one difference between them is that slavery involved men and women.  Given that violence has occurred through history, it was the scholarly publication and popularity of a freed slave turned Christian,  that would be the event that would be best fought with civil disobedience. Mr. Equiano’s charge was earned and respected to him. 
According to text’s Sources of Antislavery Thought by Maurice Jackson, “the state of slavery… is neither useful to the master nor the slave, but not the slave because he can do nothing through a motive of virtue; nor to the master because he has unlimited authority over his slaves” ( Faoloa & Roberts, pg. 217). This relationship between slave and master was understood by most Europeans and Africans. Yet was it acceptable?  No, it was not humanely acceptable, but it was a common practice to anyone that could afford a hired hand.

Next, Mr. Equaino’s idea of freedom grew out of this notion. Every Christian understands ultimately what it means in being a Christian, Oulaudah Equiano, embraces in some fashion, necessarily, that he was an evangelist of the Faith. By summation, you want to trace back here, the notion of Christian autobiography, you can trace it back to the Confessions of Saint Augustine. In that text what you have is a historical account of an individual who sort of lives an intellectual life and a phenomenal Christian life. He is tempted and suffers at the deceptive desires of this world. Saint Augustine comes to a moment in his life to be not anxious for this world but for the needs and will of God. In comparison, Equiano, according to his autobiography and many readers,  has  steps in his life that were directed by God, hence could his physical freedom necessitate his spiritual freedom? I believe he was a believer in the faith of Christ Jesus, and he became understanding and had patience to stop the slaughter of human suffering. Consequently, Mr. Equaino professes, in his autobiography, his experiences as human chattel chained to another slave was inhumane and unnatural. “Ideas concerning freedom knew no national or geographical boundaries”, according the Jackson article(pg. 218).
The providence of Jamaica has had a long history of rebellions since the Sixteenth Century. The Jamaican inhabitants caught the attention of most prominent abolitionists in Europe. The European abolitionists were concerned with Christianising the Africans and Jamaicans. European commitment to the abolition of slavery, “to promote the most important interest, the Kingdom of Christ”(pg. 231).  So, according to the new public opinion of the late Eighteenth Century, the institution of human slavery was beginning to fissure under the pressure of abolitionists in Europe and those saved by the prayers of the missionaries who witnessed Christ Jesus’ love for them. But unfortunately these changes would have not occurred until more blood was shed on the battlefields of the American Civil War.

Jefferson, Thomas. “Library of Congress.” Library of Congress. www.loc.gov (accessed 04 14, 2011).
Roberts, Toyin Falola and Kevin D. The Atlantic World 1450-2000. Vol. 1. Indianapolis, ID: Indiana University Press, 1984.