The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, Or Gustavus Vassa, The African: Written By HimselfEquiano, Olaudah
History
The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, Or Gustavus Vassa, The African: Written By Himself
Equiano, Olaudah
Enslaved persons -- Great Britain -- Biography; Enslaved persons -- United States -- Biography; Equiano, Olaudah, 1745-1797
how the Greeks are, in some measure, kept under by the Turks, as the
negroes are in the West Indies by the white people. The less refined
Greeks, as I have already hinted, dance here in the same manner as we
do in my nation. On the whole, during our stay here, which was about
five months, I liked the place and the Turks extremely well. I could
not help observing one very remarkable circumstance there: the tails
of the sheep are flat, and so very large, that I have known the tail
even of a lamb to weigh from eleven to thirteen pounds. The fat of
them is very white and rich, and is excellent in puddings, for which
it is much used. Our ship being at length richly loaded with silk, and
other articles, we sailed for England.
In May 1769, soon after our return from Turkey, our ship made a
delightful voyage to Oporto in Portugal, where we arrived at the time
of the carnival. On our arrival, there were sent on board to us
thirty-six articles to observe, with very heavy penalties if we should
break any of them; and none of us even dared to go on board any other
vessel or on shore till the Inquisition had sent on board and
searched for every thing illegal, especially bibles. Such as were
produced, and certain other things, were sent on shore till the ships
were going away; and any person in whose custody a bible was found
concealed was to be imprisoned and flogged, and sent into slavery for
ten years. I saw here many very magnificent sights, particularly the
garden of Eden, where many of the clergy and laity went in procession
in their several orders with the host, and sung Te Deum. I had a great
curiosity to go into some of their churches, but could not gain
admittance without using the necessary sprinkling of holy water at my
entrance. From curiosity, and a wish to be holy, I therefore complied
with this ceremony, but its virtues were lost on me, for I found
myself nothing the better for it. This place abounds with plenty of
all kinds of provisions. The town is well built and pretty, and
commands a fine prospect. Our ship having taken in a load of wine, and
other commodities, we sailed for London, and arrived in July
following. Our next voyage was to the Mediterranean. The ship was
again got ready, and we sailed in September for Genoa. This is one of
the finest cities I ever saw; some of the edifices were of beautiful
marble, and made a most noble appearance; and many had very curious
fountains before them. The churches were rich and magnificent, and
curiously adorned both in the inside and out. But all this grandeur
was in my eyes disgraced by the galley slaves, whose condition both
there and in other parts of Italy is truly piteous and wretched. After
we had stayed there some weeks, during which we bought many different
things which we wanted, and got them very cheap, we sailed to Naples,
a charming city, and remarkably clean. The bay is the most beautiful I
ever saw; the moles for shipping are excellent. I thought it
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