The Interesting Narrative
Olaudah Equiano, later re-named Gustavus Vassa, was born in 1745 in 'Essaka' in modern-day Nigeria and rose to prominence with the publication in 1789 of his autobiography ‘The interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano or Gustavas Vassa, the African’.

In its pages he recounts his childhood in Africa, his capture by British slave traders at the age of 11 and his subsequent adventures serving as a slave in the British Navy.

After contriving to buy his freedom in 1766, Vassa became involved in various ventures, one of which found him buying and overseeing slaves himself on a plantation in Central America. Cheated out of his earnings and narrowly escaping kidnap, he returned to England a decade later. There he worked tirelessly to promote his book and to campaign for the abolition of the slave trade until his death in 1797.

Vassa designed his ‘Narrative’ as a petition against slavery presented to Parliament and to Queen Charlotte: 'I... implore your interposition with your royal consort, in favour of the wretched Africans; that...a period may now be put to their misery and that they may be raised from the condition of brutes to which they are at present degraded to the rights and situation of men.’

Publicity
The publication of the book was made possible by obtaining advance subscriptions including those of two Wisbech worthies; John Clarkson, brother of the noted abolitionist, Thomas and Jonathan Peckover, founder of the first public bank in Wisbech. Such was its success, a further eight editions were forthcoming.

Vassa toured the country to publicise and promote these later editions:

Letter to 7 substantial inhabitants of Coggeshall, Halstead and Bocking in Essex from John Mead Ray introducing Vassa and his book. [Cambridgeshire Archives 132/B3]

The Soham connection
Vassa records the event which now links him with Cambridgeshire briefly and with little sentiment; 'I remained in London till I heard the debate in the house of Commons on the Slave Trade..I then went to Soham, Cambridgeshire and was married on the 7th of April to Miss Cullen, daughter of James and Ann Cullen, late of Ely'.

Marriage of Gustavas Vassa ‘an African’ to Susanah Cullen recorded in the register of St. Andrew’s Church, Soham, 1792. [Cambridgeshire Archives P142/1/11]

Authenticity
Doubts were expressed from its first publication as to whether Vassa’s ‘Narrative’ was his own work with some querying whether a former slave who knew no English until the age of 12 would be capable of such eloquence.

Paul Edwards, a present day authority on Vassa, has studied the letter from Vassa pictured below. He concludes that although, on first inspection, it contains grammatical errors and mis-spellings inconsistent with the polished style of the book, this can be attributed to sheer carelessness since the letter was clearly written in some haste.
The debate over whether Vassa was actually born in Africa and did endure years of slavery continues however…

Letter of 1792 from Vassa to the Revd. G Walker, one of his original subscribers. [Cambridgeshire Archives: R88/74]

Gustavus Vassa, died on 31 March 1797. It was a further ten years before the 1807 Abolition of Slavery Act came into force which attempted to halt the slave trade by introducing a £110 fine payable for any slave found upon a British ship.
Above: It is clear from Vassa’s will just how he had prospered in life. In its introduction he is styled as ‘gentleman’ and his estate was worth the equivalent of around £73,000 today.

Will of Gustavus Vassa. His estates included copyhold pasture land in Sutton and Mepal ‘which I have dearly earned by the sweat of my brow in some of the most remote and adverse corners of the whole world’ (Cambridgeshire Archives 132/B10]

This memorial to Vassa’s daughter, Anna Maria,  can still be seen on the outside of St. Andrew's church, Chesterton where she was laid to rest. She died only a few months after her father, leaving her sister Joanna to inherit the estate on her 21st birthday.

'A child of colour haply not thine own. Her father born of Afric's sunburnt race torn from his native field ah foul disgrace'