Olaudah Equiano was born in 1745 in the country that is now known as Nigeria.
The adults of the village would leave to work in the fields, while the children would
stay in the village and the older children would stand lookout for any traders.
One day Olaudah and his sister were in their hut when the alarm was sounded.
Olaudah looked out and realized that it was to late for him and his sister to run
and they wouldn't be able to reach the safety of the trees in time. He and his
sister hid in their hut until they were captured. The traders stuffed dirty clothes
into their mouths and put sacks over their heads and carried them away. Olaudah
reached a larger African settlement and was seperated from his sister and sold to an African family. During the next seven months that Olaudah spent in slavery in Africa
he was treated almost like part of the family and was given simple chores to do. In Africa slaves were respected and their status in the family was valued (Wheeler). (www.pbs.org)