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  • Essay / Olaudah Equiano and the Realities of Servants and Slaves in the 17th Century

    A long time ago in the 17th century, there was a man by the name of Olaudah Equiano who was taken at a very young age from his native land and his family ; He kept a detailed diary in which he described the horrors of slavery, kidnapping and sales at a young age. In this diary he included his memories of the sacrifices he and many others were forced to experience for the English at Jamestown. The indentured servants were English men and women who were desperate for better opportunities but had no money to travel to Jamestown. To achieve this, they had to sign a contract that would cover their living expenses in exchange for work and after 7 years, they were promised to be compensated with land and wealth. Even after recruiting servants, the supply and demand for tobacco and other goods continued to grow and their only alternative was to travel to Africa and enslave the natives. These people were taken from their homes and forced to go to Virginia where they were sold to landowners and became their property, granting them no rights or freedoms; Taken against their will and separated from their families, they were beaten, starved and lived in horrible conditions, with nothing but a man to call master. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Although being a servant and a slave were two different things, it made no difference that both were treated harshly; They were abused, overworked, underfed, beaten and given no value. Although they did everything in their power to avoid punishment, mutilation in the name of domination was inevitable. On many occasions, the treatment became so unbearable that they took charge of their manners and tried to escape. In the end, this resulted in no good, as either they would be found and executed, or they would die fighting for survival. Undoubtedly, they were both treated inhumanely, but the servants had a sense of security that allowed them to continue, because they knew that this would only be temporary, that sooner or later it would end and they would be released for a better life. In conclusion, while we can say that servants fared better than slaves, we cannot deny that both had to deal with distressing circumstances that may have permanently affected them; especially in the position of these natives who had no power to ever be free. It was writers like Equiano who documented his experiences and many others, allowing us to see first-hand that what these people experienced was utterly horrific..