Equiano's World

ASSOCIATES

Gustavus Vassa was acquainted with a number of prominent individuals, and he probably knew others for whom there is no documentary evidence. He also referred to other individuals whom he knew, especially in London, about whom little if anything known beyond Vassa's reference. There were also several associations and affiliations that referred to groups, such as the Huntingdonians, the Black Poor, the Sons of Africa, and the London Corresponding Society. By highlighting the individuals Vassa knew or possibly knew, Vassa's world expands considerably, and the list increases exponentially with his book tours and the sale of subscriptions to his autobiography, ultimately generating hundreds of individuals who purchased at least one copy of his book. Vassa's associates are divided into seven categories: Family, Slavery, Abolition, Religion, Scientific, Military and Subscribers.

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Family

Gustavus Vassa was born in 1745 in the Igbo region of the Kingdom of Benin, today southern Nigeria. He was the youngest son in a family of six sons and a daughter. He was stolen with his sister and sold into slavery at the age of 11. Not much is known about his Igbo family, aside from what is included in his memoir. In 1792, he married a white woman named Suzannah Cullen. The couple had two daughters, Anne Marie Vassa and Joanna Vassa. Anne Marie passed away shortly after Vassa’s death. Joanna went on to marry a congregationalist minister named Reverend Henry Bromley. The lives of his family members are detailed in this section.

Igbo Family

Susannah Cullen

Joanna Vassa Bromley

Reverend Henry Bromley

Slavery

Olaudah Equiano was kidnapped when he was about eleven or twelve and arrived in Barbados in mid 1754. During his experience as a slave before he was able to purchase his own freedom in 1767, he was associated with a number of individuals, three of whom were his owner, a Mr. Campbell in Virginia, Captain Michael Henry Pascal, and merchant Robert King. The section also includes his two closest friends during his enslavement, Richard Baker and John Annis, and King Gustavus Vasa I of Sweden, his namesake, and finally Ambrose Lace, a leading Liverpool slave trader.

Abolition

Gustavus Vassa became a leading member of the abolitionist movement in the middle to late 1780s, publishing the first edition of his autobiography in the spring of 1789 as Parliament opened its hearings into the slave trade. This section identifies many of the individuals with whom Vassa was associated in the struggle to end the slave trade and to expose the barbarities of slavery.

Religion

Through his slave master, Michael Henry Pascal, Gustavus Vassa was introduced to the Guerin family, relatives of Pascal who were devoutly religious. The Guerin sisters taught Vassa how to read and write, and instructed him on the principles of Christianity. Under their guidance, Vassa was baptized in 1759. Six years later, in 1765, Vassa heard the famous Calvinist Methodist preacher, George Whitefield, preach in Savannah. Whitefield and the Countess of Huntingdon’s Calvinist orientation of Methodism had a profound influence on Vassa. Throughout his life, he was affiliated with many religious figures, such as the Quakers, who were one of the first organizations to take a collective stand against the institution of slavery.

Scientific

In 1772, Gustavus Vassa was employed by Dr. Charles Irving to help him with the operation of a sea water distillation apparatus on two ships. This was the first of many scientific connections that Vassa developed over the years. He participated in an exploration of the Arctic alongside Dr. Irving and Constantine John Phipps. He was recruited to be part of a plantation scheme in the Mosquito Shore, which introduced him to Alexander Blair, an investor who was connected to distinguished chemist James Keir and the famed steam machine inventor, James Watt. As Vassa’s narrative gained popularity, his life story peaked the interest of the so-called “father of physical anthropology,” Johann Friedrich Blumenbach. The men were mutually acquainted with the President and founder of the Royal Society, Joseph Banks and met in person. These connections, among others, are detailed in this section.

Military

Gustavus Vassa travelled extensively as a seaman. He fought in the Seven Years War, where he met war hero, General James Wolfe. When he eventually settled in London in the 1770s, he became deeply involved in the political sphere, landing him various government and military connections. In his fight against the institution of slavery, he wrote many letters to high ranking officials, some of which were presented in front of the House of Commons. He participated in a disastrous plantation scheme on the British-controlled Mosquito Shore, during which time he met the son of the Miskitu kings and soon to be King George II. He worked for a former government official of the short-lived Province of Senegambia, Matthias McNamara, and participated in a resettlement scheme for the black poor in the Sierra Leone peninsula. His connections with various military and government officials are listed here.

Subscribers

Like many other first-time authors in the 18 th century, Vassa followed a subscription-based model to secure funding for his autobiography, which he published himself. In this way, he was able to retain its copyright, a feat virtually unheard of for a black, formerly enslaved man during this period. To do so, he sold the book by subscription, convincing individuals to commit to purchasing the book prior to publication, for a discounted price. Vassa’s original list of subscribers to his first edition was 311,and by the 9th edition, it had increased to 894. This section provides a list of the subscribers for various editions of the narrative, which included many well-known abolitionists, religious figures, government officials, and others.

Joanna Vassa Bromley

(1795 â€“ 1857)

Joanna Vassa Bromley, Gustavus Vassa’s second daughter, was born on April 11, 1795 and was baptized in St. Andrew’s Church, Soham on April 29, 1795. She was the only surviving child of Vassa; his elder daughter, Ann Mary, died on July 21, 1797, likely as a result of a measles epidemic, and was buried in the Chesterton area. Her mother, Susanna Cullen, a white English-woman of Scottish descent, died in 1796 at the age of 34 from a long battle with illness. Upon her death, Vassa began arranging provisions for his daughters. He moved back to London from Soham, leaving them in the care of others. He died not long after when Joanna was just over two years old. It is unknown who looked after the young girls after their parents died; however, it could have been their maternal grandmother, Anne Cullen or their aunt, also known as Anne. When Joanna reached the age of 21 in April 1816, she received her inheritance as well as various personal items from Vassa, such as a silver watch that was likely given to him during his time onboard the HMS Racehorse, the North Pole Expedition led by Constantine Phipps in 1773. She received £950 from her father’s estate, which would have been approximately £80,000 or $160,000 in today’s currency. John Audley was the co-executor of Vassa’s will. It appears that he was involved in Joanna’s upbringing, as he is later named as one of the witnesses at Joanna’s marriage in 1821 to Reverend Henry Bromley, a Congregationalist minister from Islington, London.

Joanna died on March 10, 1857 at the age of 61 and was buried at Abney Park Cemetery in Stoke Newington on March 16, 1857. Her death certificate states that she died of uterine disease. Her husband was not present at her death, although a woman named Sarah Durrant is named on her death certificate. Inscribed on her tombstone is “memory of Joanna beloved wife of Henry Bromley, daughter of Gustavus Vassa, the African.” The inscription suggests that Vassa was a celebrated figure into the middle of the 19th century and that Reverend Bromley was proud of his wife’s African heritage. He passed away 20 years later and was buried alongside Joanna on February 12, 1878.

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REFERENCES

Carretta, Vincent. Equiano, the African: Biography of a Self-made Man (Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press, 2005).

Osborne, Angelina. Equiano’s Daughter: The Life of & Times of Joanna Vassa, Daughter of Olaudah Equiano, Gustavus Vassa, the African (London: Krik Krak, 2007).

This webpage was last updated on 2020-06-12 by Carly Downs

Cover Art by Gary Crump (2007).