Several events in Equiano 's life led him to question his faith . He was severely distressed in 1774 by the kidnapping of his friend , a black cook named John Annis , who was taken forcibly off the English ship '' Anglicania '' on which they were both serving . His friend 's kidnapper , a Mr. Kirkpatrick , did not abide by the decision in the Somersett Case ( 1772 ) , that slaves could not be taken from England without their permission , as common law did not support the institution . Kirkpatrick had Annis transported to Saint Kitts , where he was punished severely and worked as a plantation labourer until he died . With the aid of Granville Sharp , Equiano tried to get Annis released before he was shipped from England , but was unsuccessful . He heard that Annis was not free from suffering until he died in slavery . Despite his questioning , he affirms his faith in Christianity , as seen in the penultimate sentence of his work that quotes the prophet Micah : " After all , what makes any event important , unless by its observation we become better and wiser , and learn ' to do justly , to love mercy , and to walk humbly before God ? ' " In his account , Equiano also told of his settling in London . He married an English woman and lived with her in Soham , Cambridgeshire , where they had two daughters . He became a leading abolitionist in the 1780s , lecturing in numerous cities against the slave trade . Equiano records his and Granville Sharp 's central roles in the anti-slave trade movement , and their effort to publicize the Zong massacre , which became known in 1783
Zong massacre
Zong massacre
Olaudah Equiano