3). The first division consists of men; married women make up the second division; the third division is "young men" and "maidens" are seen in the fourth (Equiano, p. 4). To Europeans who thought all African native cultures were simplistic and barbaric, the dances that Equiano describes certainly must have stirred creative interest because the dances reflected "some interesting scene of real life" such as "some rural sport" and they were accompanied with "many musical instruments" (Equiano, p. 4).

The way in which Equiano employs religious values into his book is also very effective and no doubt made a powerful impression on readers -- not necessarily scholars and intellectuals but also average people with spiritual backgrounds and beliefs -- which, of course, gave some momentum to the antislavery movement. On pages 69-70, after reviewing some of the brutal cruelty visited upon slaves in the West Indies, Equiano wonders why, since...
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