Is this an accurate description of slave life? Source 4

Description of an atypical slaveowner. Taken from Olaudah Equiano, The Interesting Narrative of the life of Olaudah Equiano or Gustavus Vassa as written by himself, London, 1789.

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Your task is to decide whether Washington's description of slave life is accurate or not. The sources in this investigation have been chosen to help you in this task. Once you have read the source and thought about the things to consider, you might find it helpful to make some notes on the worksheet.

Things to consider...

What do you think Equiano means by a 'common slave'?

Does this source tell you anything about Equiano's opinion of himself?

Do you think Mr King's tactic of treating slaves well would be more or less effective in terms of slave management than ill-treating them?

In what ways do you think slave life would be different under Mr King than under a more typical slave owner?