After reading Equiano’s autobiography and Caretta and Lovejoy’s discussion of the issues around Equiano’s place and date of birth, your job is to choose a side in the debate and argue your position.
In a 3-5 page paper, answer one or more of the sets of questions below. You should use Equiano’s autobiography and the articles by Caretta and Lovejoy to support your position. All sources must be cited using Chicago Manual of Style footnotes. No sources outside those assigned for this class should be used. Your paper should have an introduction with a clear thesis, body paragraphs with evidence, and a conclusion.
Discussion Questions:
- Where and when was Equiano born and why does this matter for our understanding of his accounts of slavery?
- Why did Equiano (potentially) alter his story about his life? How would he have known about the traditions of West African communities if he was not born there? Does it matter if these are his memories or compilations of the memories of fellow enslaved people?
- What is at stake in the debate between Caretta and Lovejoy? How does this debate reveal changing ideas about the history of slavery and emancipation and our understanding of the sources we rely on for information about enslaved people?