Assignment #4

            Author Jeffrey Bolster wrote Black Jacks depicting the struggle black sailors faced while gaining and maintaining their independence.  Bolster mentions a former slave by the name of Olaudah Equiano who wrote his own account found in The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano.  Equiano describes his life as a slave of a naval officer having ”served years in the Royal Navy and knew about impressment firsthand” (Bolster, 31).  It becomes quite clear in both narratives of Equiano’s overwhelming hatred for the imprisonment he endured as an African slave.  The loyalty or lack thereof on behalf of the African slaves is greatly explored in Bolster’s recounting of Equiano’s tale within the book.  The overall essence that thrived from Equiano’s account was his desire to do something greater, be something better, and aspire to a greatness that seemed almost too much for one man. 
            Bolster’s exploration into the world of African slaves onboard ships is incredible, because it delves deep into the subject that mot many would consider whilst studying slavery.  However, it uncovers the truth of many oppressed on board these ships using the first-hand account of Equiano’s tale.  Onboard, “Blacks frequently filled special billets as cooks, officers’ servants, or musicians, reinforcing their distinction from the seam proper” (Bolster, 32).  It became clear to these African’s on ships that their experiences were causing the development of a new culture.  They lacked a home nation, rather lived on the high seas and began to develop an identity.  “Equiano’s autobiography makes this clear.  He declines to label himself as an ‘African’ in the early chapters, referring to himself instead as an Eboe or as a man from Benin” (Bolster, 38). 
            The identity of a Black Jack was considerably fitting for men like Equiano.  The seas provided an identity and consistently changing scenery as opposed to being enslaved on a plantation.  Equiano’s willingness to identify himself as an Eboe gives way to the idea that he would have rather been on the seas rather than in Dartmoor Prison.  A prison that would have most likely caused more suffering than a plantation owner ever could.  While it is never clearly stated that Equiano himself would have rather been on the seas, it is implied that it was the preferred style of living.  This understanding may hold true for any black sailor during or around Equiano’s life most likely because conditions of living were considerably greater onboard a ship rather than in a prison. 
            Equiano clearly did not have a sense of national identity, rather it appears he held himself to a higher standard.  A standard that is seemingly too great for any one nation to contain him.  Holding Equiano to the standards of any nation and enforcing laws on him appears to be below him within his own standards for himself.  By earning his freedom it can ultimately be considered that his independence was more important than his ties to a nation that could limit these freedoms. 

           

References

Bolster, W. J. (1997). Black jacks: African American seamen in the age of sail. Cambridge, MA:   Harvard University Press.