Raiding Arab tribes were often the first step toward slavery. Arabs from the North came down into Nigeria and the Congo regions, captured blacks in large numbers, marched them to the coast, and sold them to Western slavers (Duncan 32). This is not, however, how it happened to Equiano. His route was more circuitous. Can you detail the capture and transport of Equiano, how he got from his native village to the Americas?
From Clark, Duncan. History of American Slavery. North Digthon, MA: JG Press, 1998.