Olaudah Equiano's Interesting Narrative and Harriet Jacob's Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl

During the 18th century, laws ensured that slaves could not legally learn how to read and write, but many did so anyway and, with the help of antislavery activists, managed to publish their poignant accounts of slavery based on their first-hand experience. For modern readers, these narratives continue to provide an eloquent but disturbing description of the brutal conditions that existed for four million black people in the Land of the Free as recently as 140 years ago or so. The first such first-hand account of a slave's experiences was Olaudah Equiano's The Interesting Narrative. Equiano's vivid descriptions of his adventures are supported by documents written by those who knew him as well as the historical record. Likewise, Harriet Jacob's Incidents in The life of A Slave Girl represented the first such slave narrative written...
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