Equiano spiritual autobiography catholic

Olaudah Equiano is a name of lasting significance in secular historical discussions, English literary circles, and among students of evangelical church history. Yet, his legacy is not nearly as widely known to the Church at large, certainly not to the degree of figures such as Jonathan Edwards or John Newton.

This is truly lamentable.

Stolen as a boy from the Kingdom of Benin, Equiano was taken to the slave markets in Barbados, and eventually bought by a ship’s captain in Virginia.

After amazing and terrifying travels throughout the Atlantic world, he ultimately landed in England where he became a leading evangelical voice of the abolition movement in the British Empire.

Although much of the discussion of Equiano’s autobiography and remarkable journey has, justifiably, focused on his identity and work as a formerly-enslaved black abolitionist, Equiano’s life as an evangelist also deserves a spotlight.

Why Equiano’s Memoir is Worth (Re)discovering

Equiano’s life is nothi