Date: 1789

"Are there not causes enough to which the apparent inferiority of an African may be ascribed, without limiting the goodness of God, and supposing he forbore to stamp understanding on certainly his own image, because 'carved in ebony.'"

— Equiano, Olaudah [Gustavus Vasa] (c. 1745-1797)

Date: 1789

"They [African customs] had been implanted in me with great care, and made an impression on my mind, which time could not erase, and which all the adversity and variety of fortune I have since experienced served only to rivet and record; for, whether the love of one's country be real or imaginary...

— Equiano, Olaudah [Gustavus Vasa] (c. 1745-1797)

Date: 1789

"Though you were early forced from my arms, your image has been always rivetted in my heart, from which neither time nor fortune have been able to remove it; so that, while the thoughts of your sufferings have damped my prosperity, they have mingled with adversity and increased its bitterness."

— Equiano, Olaudah [Gustavus Vasa] (c. 1745-1797)

Date: 1789

"All within my breast was tumult, wildness, and delirium!"

— Equiano, Olaudah [Gustavus Vasa] (c. 1745-1797)