Olaudah Equiano, known for most of his life as Gustavus Vassa, was a writer and abolitionist. According to his memoir, he was from the village of Essaka in modern southern Nigeria. Enslaved as a child in West Africa, he was shipped to the Caribbean and sold to a Royal Navy officer. He was sold twice more before purchasing his freedom in 1766.
"Bahama Banks 1767" from The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, Or Gustavus Vassa, The African
Plaque at Riding House Street, Westminster, noting the place where Equiano lived and published his narrative
A portrait of an unknown man previously identified as Ignatius Sancho, or as Equiano, in the Royal Albert Memorial Museum, Exeter
Abolitionism in the United Kingdom
Abolitionism in the United Kingdom was the movement in the late 18th and early 19th centuries to end the practice of slavery, whether formal or informal, in the United Kingdom, the British Empire and the world, including ending the Atlantic slave trade. It was part of a wider abolitionism movement in Western Europe and the Americas.
1787 Wedgwood anti-slavery medallion designed by Josiah Wedgwood for the British anti-slavery campaign
Title page of a published lecture against slavery by Joseph Ivimey
Portrait of Dido Elizabeth Belle and Lady Elizabeth Murray, the great-nieces of Chief Justice Lord Mansfield living at Kenwood House.
Ignatius Sancho (c1729–1780), an escaped slave, gained fame as an active 18th-century British abolitionist. He opened a popular shop in Mayfair and mixed with influential people. He was the first person of African descent to vote.
