Olaudah Equiano or Gustavus Vassa – What's in a Name?

Abstract

Whether the author of The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano; or, Gustavus Vassa the African (London, 1789) should be referred to as Equiano or Vassa in part relates to where he was born and how he related to his place of birth. The choice of name also relates to how scholars want to perceive of the author, on the one hand, and how the man himself presented himself at the time, on the other. It is argued here that the author of The Interesting Narrative used his birth name, Olaudah Equiano, as proof of his African background, not as a name by which he wanted to be known, Gustavus Vassa. Hence, the dilemma is why scholars refer to him by his African name, when he chose not to do so. It is suggested that use of the birth name has more to do with the politics of representation and political correctness of later generations of scholarship, not with the intention of the man. The imposition of the birth name as the signifier long after he died, however, has allowed the postulation of a series of dichotomies, such as place of birth being in Africa and/or Carolina, and whether or not the man was self-made, meaning creating his identity and benefiting from that creation, as opposed to being a committed activist motivated by principles and sacrifice. The veneer of interpretation melts away if it is recognized that Vassa consciously operated in a different mode of expression and implementation than subsequent literary scholars and historians have allowed. The dichotomy between evangelical man and crass entrepreneur evaporates. The reason for the debate over his birth has more to do with the present clash between literary scholarship and historical interpretation than over possible misinterpretations and misrepresentations of the past.