Broadly construed, creolization refers to a mixing of cultures and beliefs. A creole society is one in which a variety of cultures and ideas coexist. Thus, historian Ira Berlin attempted to capture the impact of creolization on individuals in the late eighteenth-century Atlantic when he coined the term Atlantic creole.
Berlin's Atlantic creoles were economically active people who became part of the three worlds (Africa, Europe, and the Americas) that came together in the Atlantic littoral (Berlin, 17). For more information on Berlin's work see Many Thousands Gone (1998).
Olaudah Equiano, also known as Gustavas Vassa (see gure 1), has now become the person whom historians rst refer to when asked to identify a representative Atlantic creole. Equiano is most recognized for his Interesting Narrative which is now available as part of the `Our Americas' Archive Partnership2 (a digital collaboration on the hemispheric Americas).
This module traces how educators can use Equiano's life and The Interesting Narrative as an avenue through which to explore the nature of creolization, the activities of the Atlantic abolitionist and anti-slavery movements, and how historians approach and utilize primary source materials.
Berlin's Atlantic creoles were economically active people who became part of the three worlds (Africa, Europe, and the Americas) that came together in the Atlantic littoral (Berlin, 17). For more information on Berlin's work see Many Thousands Gone (1998).
Olaudah Equiano, also known as Gustavas Vassa (see gure 1), has now become the person whom historians rst refer to when asked to identify a representative Atlantic creole. Equiano is most recognized for his Interesting Narrative which is now available as part of the `Our Americas' Archive Partnership2 (a digital collaboration on the hemispheric Americas).
This module traces how educators can use Equiano's life and The Interesting Narrative as an avenue through which to explore the nature of creolization, the activities of the Atlantic abolitionist and anti-slavery movements, and how historians approach and utilize primary source materials.
Olaudah Equiano
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| Figure 2.1: A portrait of Olaudah Equiano, also known as Gustavus Vassa. |
The Interesting Narrative conveys a version of Equiano's life story and, according to the work, he was
born in Africa in 1745, was captured by slavers as a young man, and was eventually purchased by a British Royal Navy o cer,
Michael Henry Pascal. Equiano traveled the world on various ships that Pascal served upon. After being denied his freedom by Pascal in 1762, Equiano ended up working on various sugar plantations prior to purchasing his own freedom in 1766.
The 1770s found Equiano in London, but he still took sea voyages to exotic locales, such as the Arctic. Finally, in 1789 his autobiography was published, which provided a much-needed rst-hand account of the horrors of the slave trade.
As much of the action in Equiano's tale takes place in the mid to late 1700s, a discussion of his life and works would best t within a U.S. history or literature lecture on the Age of Revolutions or even the Early Republic.
Educators could emphasize how he was representative of a large scale movement of ideas, often revolutionary in approach, and peoples during this period.
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