Primary Sources on 18th-Century Slavery: Narratives
Eighteenth-century Autobiographical Narratives by Enslaved People
1709. Anonymous. “A Speech Made by a Black of Guardaloupe (1709).” 3,379 words.
1. Transcribed in Early Caribbean Digital Archive.
2. In Caribbeana: An Anthology of English Literature of the West Indies, 1657–1777, 93–100. Edited and introduction by Thomas W. Krise. University of Chicago Press, 1999. Print Book from Hofstra
1734. Ayuba Sulieman Diallo. Thomas Bluett, Some Memoirs of the Life of Job, the Son of Solomon. London, 1734.
1. Short excerpt (1,348 words) from Digital History.
3. Longer excerpt (about 2,500 words) from National Humanities Center.
4. Scan of original 1734 publication (64 pp., very large print), from Internet Archive.
1735. Anonymous. “The Speech of Moses Bon Sàam (1735).” 2,139 words.
1. Transcript in Early Caribbean Digital Archive.
2. Original publication in The Prompter in Early Caribbean Digital Archive.
3. In Caribbeana: An Anthology of English Literature of the West Indies, 1657–1777, 101–107. Edited and introduction by Thomas W. Krise. University of Chicago Press, 1999. Print Book from Hofstra
1743. Jannot. “Jannot, 1743.” In Voices of the Enslaved: A Digital Humanities Approach to Encountering the Archive. Translated, edited and commentary by Sophie White. Williamsburg, VA: The Open OI / William & Mary & Colonial Williamsburg, accessed November 2, 2025. 2,791 words.
1749. William Ansah Sessarakoo. William Ansah Sessarakoo, The Royal African: Or, Memoirs of the Young Prince of Annamaboe. London: W. Reeve, 1749.
1. Excerpt (2,388 words) from Miami University.
2. Full original text in PDF on Early Caribbean Digital Archive.
1760. Briton Hammon. Briton Hammon, A Narrative of the Uncommon Sufferings and Surprizing Deliverance of Briton Hammon, a Negro Man (1760). 2,958 words.
1. Transcribed by the University of South Florida.
2. Transcribed in Documenting the American South.
3. In Unchained Voices: An Anthology of Black Authors in the English-Speaking World of the Eighteenth Century. Edited by Vincent Carretta, 32–58. University Press of Kentucky, 1996. Print Book from Hofstra
1764. Marguerite. “Marguerite, 1764.” In Voices of the Enslaved: A Digital Humanities Approach to Encountering the Archive. Translated, edited, and annotated by Sophie White. Williamsburg, VA: Omohundro Institute, accessed November 2, 2025. 966 words.
1764. Jeanot. “Jeanot, 1764.” In Voices of the Enslaved: A Digital Humanities Approach to Encountering the Archive. Translated, edited, and annotated by Sophie White. Williamsburg, VA: Omohundro Institute & William & Mary, accessed November 2, 2025. 961 words.
1765. Babette. “Babette, 1765.” In Voices of the Enslaved: Love, Labor, and Longing in French Louisiana. Translated, edited, and annotated by Sophie White. Williamsburg, VA: Omohundro Institute of Early American History & Culture & University of North Carolina Press, accessed November 2, 2025. 4,673 words.
1768. Albert. The LIFE, and dying SPEECH of ARTHUR, a Negro Man; Who was Executed at Worcester, October 20th, 1768. For a Rape committed on the Body of one Deborah Metcalfe. In Black Writers of the Founding Era, 1760-1800. Edited by James G. Basker and Nicole A. Seary, n.p. New York, N.Y.: The Library of America, 2023. 2,558 words. Ebook from Hofstra
1770. James Albert Ukawsaw Gronniosaw, 1712-1775. A Narrative of the Most Remarkable Particulars in the Life of James Albert Ukawsaw Gronniosaw, an African Prince. Ed. Walter Shirley. Bath: S. Hazzard, 1770. 13,787 words.
1. Short excerpt (596 words) from Southern Poverty Law Center.
2. Longer excerpt (4,811 words) in Black Writers of the Founding Era, 1760-1800. Edited by James G. Basker and Nicole A. Seary, n.p. New York, N.Y.: The Library of America, 2023. 609 words. Ebook from Hofstra
3. Transcribed in full in Documenting the American South.
4. PDF of original publication from Rutgers University.
1779. Ofodobendo Wooma (1729–1779). “The blessed Brother Andrew the Moor has had the following drawn up of his life.” In Black Writers of the Founding Era, 1760-1800. Edited by James G. Basker and Nicole A. Seary, n.p. New York, N.Y.: The Library of America, 2023. 609 words. Ebook from Hofstra
1782. Ignatius Sancho, 1729–1780. Letters of the Late Ignatius Sancho, An African. In Two Volumes. To Which Are Prefixed, Memoirs of His Life. 2 vols. London: J. Nichols, 1782. Long text.
1. Complete text transcribed in Documenting the American South.
2. Excerpts in Unchained Voices: An Anthology of Black Authors in the English-Speaking World of the Eighteenth Century. Edited by Vincent Carretta, 77–109. University Press of Kentucky, 1996. Print Book from Hofstra
1782. Belinda Sutton. Freedom petition. 609 words.
1. “The Petition of Belinda an African.” In Black Writers of the Founding Era, 1760-1800. Edited by James G. Basker and Nicole A. Seary, n.p. New York, N.Y.: The Library of America, 2023. Ebook from Hofstra
2. “Petition of an African Slave, to the Legislature of Massachusetts.” In Unchained Voices: An Anthology of Black Authors in the English-Speaking World of the Eighteenth Century. Edited by Vincent Carretta, 142–144. University Press of Kentucky, 1996. Print Book from Hofstra
1784. Absalom Jones. “Narrative Written by Himself.” In Black Writers of the Founding Era, 1760-1800. Edited by James G. Basker and Nicole A. Seary, n.p. New York, N.Y.: The Library of America, 2023. 609 words. Ebook from Hofstra
1786. Johnson Green. “The Life and Confession of JOHNSON GREEN, Who is to be Executed this Day, August 17TH, 1786, for the Atrocious Crime of BURGLARY; Together with his LAST and DYING WORDS.” In Unchained Voices: An Anthology of Black Authors in the English-Speaking World of the Eighteenth Century. Edited by Vincent Carretta, 134–141. University Press of Kentucky, 1996. Print Book from Hofstra
1787. Ottobah Cugoano.
“Thoughts and Sentiments on the Evil and Wicked Traffic of the Slavery and Commerce of the Human Species, Humbly Submitted to the Inhabitants of Great Britain, by Ottobah Cugoano, a Native of Africa" (London, 1787).
1. In Unchained Voices: An Anthology of Black Authors in the English-Speaking World of the Eighteenth Century. Edited by Vincent Carretta, 145–184. University Press of Kentucky, 1996. Print Book from Hofstra
2. Scanned original text at New York Public Library Digital Collections.
“Narrative of the Enslavement of Ottobah Cugoano, a Native of Africa; Published by Himself, in the Year 1787; The Negro's Memorial, or, Abolitionist's Catechism by an Abolitionist.” 2,465 words. Transcribed in Documenting the American South.
1789. Oloudah Equiano. The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Oloudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa. 2 vols. London, England, 1789.
1. Short excerpts from the Excerpts from Slave Narratives website, edited by Steven Mintz:
“Olaudah Equiano, an 11-year-old Ibo from Nigeria remembers his kidnapping into slavery (1789)” (522 words).
“Olaudah Equiano describes the horrors of the Middle Passage (1789)” (1,462 words).
“Olaudah Equiano describes his arrival in the New World (1789)” (508 words).
2. 16-page excerpt: Gustavus Vassa [Oloudah Equiano]. In Cavalcade: Negro American Writing from 1760 to the Present. Edited by Arthur P. Davis and Saunders Redding, 17–32. Houghton Mifflin Company, 1971. Print Book from Hofstra
18-page excerpt: Gustavus Vassa [Oloudah Equiano]. “The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Oloudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa (selection).” In Early Negro American Writers: Selections with Biographical and Critical Introductions, 57–74. Edited by Benjamin Brawley. Books for Libraries Press, [1935] 1968. Print Book from Hofstra
3. Selected chapters in Unchained Voices: An Anthology of Black Authors in the English-Speaking World of the Eighteenth Century. Edited by Vincent Carretta, 77–109. University Press of Kentucky, 1996. Print Book from Hofstra
4. Scanned original publication (7th edition) on PDF in Early Caribbean Digital Archive.
5. Scanned original publication (9th edition) on PDF in Early Caribbean Digital Archive.
1790. Joseph Mountain, 1758–1790. Sketches of the Life of Joseph Mountain, a Negro Who Was Executed at New-Haven, on the 20th Day of October, 1790, for a Rape, Committed on the 26th Day of May Last. Ed. David Daggett. New Haven: T. and S. Green, 1790. 6,253 words. Transcribed in Documenting the American South.
1790. Yamboo. “The Sufferings of Yamboo, an African, in South-Carolina.” In Black Writers of the Founding Era, 1760-1800. Edited by James G. Basker and Nicole A. Seary, n.p. New York, N.Y.: The Library of America, 2023. 609 words. Ebook from Hofstra
1793. Cudjoe. From Bryan Edwards. The History, Civil and Commercial, of the British Colonies in the West Indies, vol. 2. Dublin, 1793, pp. 63–64. 319 words. Transcribed in Early Caribbean Digital Archive.
1793. David George. An Account of the Life of David George, from Sierra Leone in Africa.
1. Excerpt (5,126 words) on the Black Loyalists website.
2. Full text in Only By Experience: An Anthology of Slave Narratives. Broadview Press, 2023. Download PDF
3. Full text in Unchained Voices: An Anthology of Black Authors in the English-Speaking World of the Eighteenth Century. Edited by Vincent Carretta, 333–350. University Press of Kentucky, 1996. Print Book from Hofstra
1794. Edmund Fortis. The Last Words and Dying Speech of Edmund Fortis, a Negro Man, Who Appeared to Be between Thirty and Forty Years of Age, but Very Ignorant. He Was Executed at Dresden, on Kennebeck River, on Thursday the Twenty-Fifth Day of September, 1794, for a Rape and Murder, Committed on the Body of Pamela Tilton, a Young Girl of about Fourteen Years of Age, Daughter of Mr. Tilton of Vassalborough, in the County of Lincoln. Exeter: s.n., 1795. 1,779 words. Transcribed in Documenting the American South.
1795. Pomp. Jonathan Plummer, Dying Confession of Pomp, A Negro Man, Who Was Executed at Ipswich, on the 6th August, 1795, for Murdering Capt. Charles Furbush, of Andover, Taken from the Mouth of the Prisoner, and Penned by Jonathan Plummer, Jun. [Newburyport, MA: Jonathan Plummer; Blunt and March, 1795]. 2,803 words. Transcribed in Documenting the American South.
1796. Joanna. In John Gabriel Stedman, Narrative of Joanna; An Emancipated Slave, of Surinam. Boston, MA: Isaac Knapp, 1838 (based on a 1796 publication). Long text. No excerpts available. Scanned original publication on PDF in Early Caribbean Digital Archive.
1797. Abraham Johnstone. The Address of Abraham Johnstone, a Black Man, Who Was Hanged at Woodbury, in the County of Glocester, and State of New Jersey, on Saturday the the [sic] 8th Day of July Last; to the People of Colour. To Which Is Added His Dying Confession or Declaration. Also, a Copy of a Letter to His Wife, Written the Day Previous to His Execution. Philadelphia: The Purchasers, 1797. 13,556 words. Transcribed in Documenting the American South.
1797. Stephen Smith. Life, Last Words and Dying Speech of Stephen Smith, a Black Man, Who Was Executed at Boston This Day Being Thursday, October 12, 1797 for Burglary. [Boston: s.n., 1797]. 953 words. Transcribed in full in Documenting the American South.
1798. Boston King. “Memoirs of the Life of Boston King, a Black Preacher.” 9,956 words.
1. In I Belong to South Carolina: South Carolina Slave Narratives. Edited by Susanna Ashton, 19–39. University of South Carolina Press, 2010. Ebook from Hofstra
2. In Unchained Voices: An Anthology of Black Authors in the English-Speaking World of the Eighteenth Century. Edited by Vincent Carretta, 351–368. University Press of Kentucky, 1996. Print Book from Hofstra
1798. Venture Smith. A Narrative of the Life and Adventures of Venture, a Native of Africa, but Resident above Sixty Years in the United States of America. First published in 1798. Long text.
1. Short excerpt (2,081 words) from the Excerpts from Slave Narratives website, edited by Steven Mintz:: “Venture Smith relates the story of his kidnapping at the age of six (1798).”
2. 1860 edition transcribed in Five Black Lives: The Autobiographies of Venture Smith, James Marsh, William Grimes, The Rev. G. W. Offley, James L. Smith, 1–34. Edited and introduction by Arna Bontemps. Wesleyan University Press, 1971. Print Book from Hofstra
3. Scan of entire 1835 edition on HathiTrust.
1799. Ashy. “Narrative of Ashy.” In Jerome S. Handler, “Life Histories of Enslaved Africans in Barbados.” Slavery & Abolition 19, no. 1 (1998): 129–140. 217 words. Transcribed in Early Caribbean Digital Archive.
1799. Sibell. “Narrative of Sibell.” In Jerome S. Handler. “Life Histories of Enslaved Africans in Barbados.” Slavery & Abolition 19, no. 1 (1998): 129–140. 519 words. Transcribed in Early Caribbean Digital Archive.
Late 18th Century. Boyrereau Brinch. The Blind African Slave, or, Memoirs of Boyrereau Brinch, Nicknamed Jeffery Brace (published in 1810).
1. Excerpt in Only By Experience: An Anthology of Slave Narratives. Broadview Press, 2023. Download PDF
2. Transcribed in full in Documenting the American South.
2. Full text in Boyrereau Brinch, The Blind African Slave, or, Memoirs of Boyrereau Brinch, Nicknamed Jeffery Brace. Edited by Kari J. Winter and Benjamin F. Prentiss. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, [1810] 2004. Ebook from Hofstra
1824. Robert Wedderburn (born 1762). The Horrors of Slavery (published in 1824).
1. Excerpt (7,956 words) from Montclair State University.
2. Full text in: Robert Wedderburn and Iain McCalman, Horrors of Slavery and Other Writings (Marcus Wiener, 1991). Print Book from Hofstra
3. Scanned copy of original The Horrors of Slavery in Google Books.