He had seven children and many slaves, so Equiano grew up in a slave society. Olaudah Equiano rose to prominence in the late 18th century as the leading black campaigner for the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade. Olaudah Equiano had six older siblings. Olaudah Equiano's father was a village chief. Though he spent a brief period in the state of Virginia, much of Equiano's time in slavery was spent serving the captains of slave ships and British navy vessels. When he was kidnapped the criminals also took his sister. Olaudah Equiano, (born c. 1745, Essaka [now in Nigeria]?—died March 31, 1797, London, England), self-proclaimed West African sold into slavery and later freed. In an adventurous and extraordinary life, Equiano (c.1745-c.1797) criss-crossed the Atlantic world, from West Africa to the Caribbean to the USA to Britain, either as a slave or fighting with the Royal Navy. Those that had survived were sold at auction. When he was eleven, Equiano was captured by African slave traders. As he was by now relatively well educated, he was considered to be too valuable to work as a normal slave in the plantations and he was trained as a gauger, a person who calculates weights and measures. Like most slaves, Equiano was sold and re-sold a number of times during those early weeks of imprisonment, but he eventually found himself in the town of Tinmah, “the most beautiful country I had yet seen in Africa”. Pascal then sold Equiano to a ship captain in London, who took him to Montserrat, where he was sold to the prominent merchant Robert King. Sold as a Slave - Ebook written by Olaudah Equiano. In an adventurous and extraordinary life, Equiano (c.1745-c.1797) criss-crossed the Atlantic world, from West Africa to the Caribbean to the USA to Britain, either as a slave or fighting with the Royal Navy. His account of his life is not only one of the great documents of the abolition movement, but also a startling, moving story of danger and betrayal. Olaudah means good fortune and symbolizes one who is well-spoken. His mother taught him self-defence. Interesting Olaudah Equiano Facts: Olaudah's father was a man of dignity known as 'Embrenche" with markings carved into his forehead, and his mother was heavily involved in communal wars. Doran in turn sold Equiano to Robert King, a wealthy and benevolent Quaker merchant who worked out of Philadelphia. They lived far from the sea, in an area which is now part of Nigeria. When he was eleven, Equiano was captured by African slave traders: The slave traders separated Equiano from his sister and sold him again and again. Sold as a Slave. They were … Unfortunately, Pascal learning of Equiano's ambition, and cruelly sold him to Captain Doran of the Charming Sally.