HISTORY!

^American History Play

From Slavery toKidnapped and sold into bondage at 11, a West Africanboy struggles to survive—and break free

Characters PROLOGUE•Kwasi, on African slave traderOiaudah Equiano*Jack Davis, slave ship crew member*Folami, African woman held captive'Auctioneer, ot o slave market»Charles Ford 1 merchants in*Edward Kane / Barbados, West IndiesDick Baker, a white teenage sailorMichael Pascal, captain af

a British trading shipRobert King, o merchant from

PhiladelphiaCaptain Thomas Farmer, commander

of one af King's trading ships

* Indicates a fictional or compositecharacter. All others were real people.

Words to Know

.abolitionist a person whoopposes slavery

J: an act thatiS'someone from slavery

•j: a large estate.rkers produce

crops for the owner's benefitnj: a unit of British

currency {symbol: £) similarto the U.S. dollar

Prologue narrator: Between the16th and 19th centuries, the slavetrade thrived. Merchants in Europeand the Americas became wealthyby selling kidnapped Africans intoslavery. In the American colonies,most slaves went to Southern plan-tations. But until Northern statesbegan to ban the trade in 1777,Northerners also owned slaves.

For the 12 million African men,women, and children sold intobondage, the slave trade broughtunimaginable suffering. Oiaudah(oh-lah-OO-day) Equiano was oneof those slaves. He was taken byforce from his home in West Africa(probably modern day Nigeria).Here is his story.

N One day in 1755, whileOiaudah is playing with his sister,a band of raiders kidnaps them.The children are soon separatedand sold to different tribes. Forseveral months, Oiaudah, about 11,is enslaved to other Africans. Butone day, a stranger grabs him.Kwasi: Come with me, boy. Don'tmake a sound or 1 will hurt you.Oiaudah: I don't belong to you!Kwasi: I don't care who you

belong to. You will make me rich.Oiaudah: Where are we going?Kwasi: To the ocean. People therewill pay me well for you.Narrator B: When they reachthe coast, Kwasi takes Oiaudahonto a huge ship and sells him toEuropean slave traders. Oiaudah,seeing white people for the firsttime, is terrified of them.Jack Davis: Come on, boy! You'regoing in with all the others.Narrator C: The ship is crammedwith hundreds of Africans, manychained together and moaningwith fear or pain. One is a womanwho speaks Olaudah's language.Folami: Where are you from?Oiaudah: A village many months'travel from here. My father is animportant man, a chief with ser-vants and slaves of his own. But Iwas stolen, and now I'm a slave.Folami: I was kidnapped too andtraded to those pale people.Oiaudah: Are they ghosts? Willthey eat us?

Folami: No. They just keep bring-ing more of us. We're packed in soclose, we can hardly move!Oiaudah: Help! Let me out!Davis: Cry all you want, boy. Thisship is setting sail.

continued onp. 18 -*

1 6 JUNIORSCHOLASTIC/OCTOBER 11, 2010

This illustration shows African captivescrammed aboard a real ship, the Wildfire, in1860.4t top: Olaudah Equiano as a free man

HISTORY

SCENE 2 HiNäirätüi I. For two months, thecaptives suffer in the filthy cargohold. Many are beaten. Many die.Oiaudah: The slave owners in mycountry were never this brutal.Folami: I fear what will come next.Oiaudah: It can't get worse!Narrator E: But it does. When theship arrives at Barbados [see map],Oiaudah and the others are put upfor sale at a public auction.Auctioneer: Who will buy thisstrong woman and her two kids?Charles Ford: I'll take her. She'llmake a good field hand. But I don'tneed useless young mouths to feed.E'* - ^ — I'll buy the children.They're a good size for housework.Folami: No! Don't take my babies!Oiaudah: Men are being torn fromtheir wives, children from theirparents. What will become of us?Narrator A: Oiaudah is shipped offto the colony of Virginia. A planta-tion owner buys him and puts himto work clearing rocks from a field.

Narr Oiaudah is soon soldto Michael Pascal, captain of atrading ship. A white crew member

DIaudah Equiano'svoyage from WestAfrica to the Americaswas harsh, as it wasfor most slaves. Butworking aboard tradingships allowed him toearn his freedom.

soon befriends the frightened boy.Dick Baker: Your English isn't bad!Oiaudah: Thanks. What are youdoing?Dick: Reading a story.Oiaudah: What do you mean?How do books tell you stories?Dick: This writing stands for thewords we speak. Do you want tolearn how to read and write?Oiaudah: Yes, please teach me!Narrator C: Oiaudah workshard and Pascal treats him well.Oiaudah begins to feel safe. Then,in December 1762, while the shipis docked in England . . .Michael Pascal: Come with me!Oiaudah: To stock up on supplies?Pascal: No. I'm selling you.Oiaudah: Haven't I served youwell. Captain?

D?sc^' You have. In fact, yournew skills have made you evenmore valuable. That's why I'mselling you. Your new master issetting sail to the West Indies.Oiaudah: Please, no! Slaves aretreated so cruelly there!

But Oiaudah is soonon a ship bound for Montserrat.Oiaudah: My friends and all myhopes are gone once again!

T O B E S O L D ,OnTfiuRSDAYthc third Day

of AucviT nt«,

A CARGO

NINETY-FOURPRIME, HEALTHY

INEGRÖES,C O N S I S T I N G OF

"hirty-nine MEN,Fifteen BOYS,Twenty-four WOMEN, andSixteen GIRLS.

J U S T A R R I V E D ,jIn the Brigantine DEM ni A .,Fran

«j .5tfrr,Malter,from SIERRA-LEON, by

DAVID (ivrJOUX DR AS.

Traders advertised the arrival of slaves asthey would any other new merchandise.This 1769 ad was posted in Charlestown(now Charleston), South Carolina.

SCENE 4 ^^^^In the West Indies,

Oiaudah, now about 17, watchesas a British plantation owner beatshis slaves until their bones crack.He fears for his life. But in May1763, he is sold to Robert King.King imports sugar and rum from

Aboard stave ship 11756-1757)— Owned by Michael Pascat 11757-1762)— Owned by Robert King (1763-1766)O City

Present-day border

FOR SALE

ere often treated crueliy bymasters and overseers. This man,who was photographed after the Civil War,bears the scars of repeated whippings.

the West Indies and exports vari-ous American goods to the islands.

You cost me a lotof money, Olaudah, but you havebeen worth every bit of it andmore. Your hard work is savingme more than 100 pounds a year!Olaudah: Mr. King, may I askwhat you paid for me?King: Your slave price? It was £40*.Olaudah: If I can earn that much,will you let me buy my freedom?

One of my ships' captains,Thomas Farmer, likes having youwork with him. See what you canearn for yourself along the way.üiaudaii: I will serve you well, sir!Narrator A: Off and on for severalyears, Olaudah sails with CaptainFarmer. They trade Mr. King'sgoods between the American colo-nies and the West Indies. Duringtheir journeys, Olaudah finds waysto earn his own money on the side,once his regular tasks are done.

'roughly $2,000 in today's money

This young siave is being auctioned oflto the highest bidder—the same fatesuffered by Olaudah and his shipmatesupon reaching Barbados.

'^CIENIED: One day at sea . . .

Captain Thon Howare you faring, lad?Olaudah: I use money I get cuttingcrewmen's hair to buy small items.At the next port, I sell them for ahigher price. I've saved up £47.Captain: Mr. King is in for asurprise! I'll take you to see himwhen we get back to Philadelphia.Narrator C: When the ship docks in1766, the Captain keeps his word.Olaudah: Mr. King, I'm ready tobuy my freedom. I have the £40.King: How did you get the money?Olaudah: I earned it, sir.Captain: it's true, Mr. King. He'sa very smart and careful trader.King: But he's valuable property!Captain: You must keep yourword. Olaudah has worked hard.King: Very well. Olaudah, take thisnote to the office. The secretarywill draw up your manumission.

I

Slavery: Key Dates• 1619: The first African

slaves imported to theAiTierican colonies arrive atJamestown, Virginia.

• 1808: The United States banstrans-Atlantic slave trading.

• 1833: The United Kingdom'sSlavery Abolition Act bansslavery throughout theBritish Empire.

• 1863: President AbrahamLincoln issues the Emancipa- ition Proclamation, freeing 1slaves in Confederate states.

• 1865: The 13th Amendmentabolishes slavery in the U.S. i

Olaudah: Thank you, thank you!Narrator 0: On July 11, 1766,Olaudah, now 22, is finally free.Olaudah: This morning, I was aslave. Now I am my own master!

Epilo tor: In 1767,Equiano settled in England andcontinued his education. Hebecame an abolitionist, giving elo-quent speeches against slavery. In1789, he published his life story,describing the horrors of slavery.

In 1808, 11 years after Equiano'sdeath, the United States made it ille-gal to import slaves (see box above).But owning slaves was not bannedthroughout the entire country until1865, after the Civil War.

—Mary Harvey & Kathy Wilmore

f^ Think About It

l a n a ^1. How did learning to read a ^write affect Olaudah's life?

2 . Why do you suppose RobertKing treated Olaudah well andlet him buy his freedom?

JUNI0RSCH0USTIC/0CT0BERll,2010 1 9