Equiano the Great Manipulator?

Based on the articles by Vincent Caretta and Paul Lovejoy, it is clear that both men are well educated and have researched the life of Olaudah Equiano. Mr. Carretta teaches English and specializes in 18th century British literature and Mr. Lovejoy teaches history and is a historian of the slave trade. It is apparent how their work influences the interpretation of text and how they utilize the support gained from their research. Mr. Carretta argues that Equiano’s The Interesting Narrative an autobiography, does nothing but contradict the claim that Equiano was born in Africa. The way Mr. Carretta supports this claim is by providing evidence through documents published by newspapers, journals, and churches. He finds the dates do not coincide with Equiano’s record of events thus bringing to question the credibility of Equiano as a writer himself, his ethos. This process is efficient in which we examine Equiano as a writer alone. Mr. Lovejoy’s article covers more than Equiano the writer but the time period itself. The evidence he provides to support that Equiano’s birthplace is Africa, is acquired not only from the time stamp of documents but the way he could interpret those documents. Mr. Lovejoy takes into account Equiano’s description of events that occur and correlates to the culture of that point in history. Both Carretta and Lovejoy acknowledge a discrepancy in documented evidence. Mr. Carretta believes that Equiano uses his writing to manipulate facts to support his “own pocketbook.” Mr. Lovejoy believes that Equiano’s words have contradictions just as many autobiographies do, but they are Equiano’s interpretations of his own life.

References:

Vincent Carretta (1999): Olaudah Equiano or Gustavus Vassa? New light on an eighteenth‐century question of identity, Slavery & Abolition: A Journal of Slave and Post-Slave Studies, 20:3, 96-105

Paul Lovejoy (2006): Autobiography and Memory:Gustavus Vassa, alias Olaudah Equiano, the African, Slavery and Abolition, 27:3, p. 317–347

Christopher Columbus: The Great Navigator

The process that made Christopher Columbus a great navigator begins at the place of his birth, Genoa. The city of Genoa was a place of trade and merchants. Here is where Columbus began his education of seamanship and business. The combination of becoming a merchant’s apprentice and a sailor on local ships began the long line of gained experienced for Columbus, destined to discover new lands. Business is the first step in the process of Columbus’ career as one of the best navigators of his time. The desire to turn materials, supplies, and goods into profit are what first fueled Columbus’ desire to explore.[1] Along the path to his great voyage of 1492, Christopher Columbus gained great skills from the voyagers of Portugal, his temporary home. The Portuguese mariners were using advances in science to navigate their travels. These mariners were using angles of the Sun to help determine degrees in latitude that would help them better define their position on a map.[2] Columbus reaped the benefits of the new systems gained by the Portuguese and applied his new knowledge of the effects of wind, currents, and land masses to his own travels. When Columbus worked as a book dealer, he had access to the most current maps available. He also read books by scientists who had theories that explained the cosmos and had mathematical figures pertaining to the size of the Earth. Columbus would use this new science to generate his proposal for his voyage to the Orient. [3]

After Columbus had the financial backing for his first voyage, it was not religion that drove his desire but profit. It wasn’t until his later voyages that Columbus began to reconsider how he was able to discover new lands. He began to see the Earth and the land as images detailed in the Bible and convinced himself that he was preparing the people of these newly discovered lands for the second coming of Christ. [4] His own ideas of faith were changing and how he documented his travels changed as well. He believed in part that his purpose of traveling and making new discoveries was to spread Christianity and religion. It was enough to receive further financial support for his voyages.

[1] Symcox Geoffrey and Blair Sullivan, Christopher Columbus and the Enterprise of the Indies: A Brief History with Documents 5, 7.
[2] Symcox and Sullivan, 8.
[3]Symcox and Sullivan 9, 10.
[4]Symcox and Sullivan 25,26.

(1.) Introduction

My name is Andrea Adame. This is my first semester with ASU. I have an Associate's Degree in Early Childhood Education, I work full time at a private preschool and I'm a little nervous to be back to the school grind. I am really excited about this course and hope we can work together to make the best of it.