Viewpoints Comparative Questions

  1. Compare and contrast Falconbridge’s and Equiano’s accounts of life aboard a slave ship. How do you explain the differences you note? In your opinion, did both authors believe their accounts to be truthful? Why or why not?
  2. How did each author use Christianity to support his or her position?
  3. How might Equiano have responded to Falconbridge’s harsh characterization of Africa? Is there any aspect of her account with which he might have agreed?

Olaudah Equiano, The Interesting Narrative of Olaudah Equiano (London, 1789) in The Atlantic Slave Trade, ed. David Northrup (Lexington, Mass.: D. C. Heath, 1994), 78–79.