author

Venture Smith

d. 1805

Best known for one of the earliest autobiographical accounts by a formerly enslaved person in America, this remarkable figure told a life story that stretches from West Africa to colonial New England. His narrative remains a vivid first-person record of enslavement, endurance, and self-emancipation.

1 Audiobook

A Narrative of the Life and Adventures of Venture, a Native of Africa, but Resident above Sixty Years in the United States of America, Related by Himself

A Narrative of the Life and Adventures of Venture, a Native of Africa, but Resident above Sixty Years in the United States of America, Related by Himself

by Venture Smith

About the author

Born in West Africa around 1729 and later enslaved in colonial New England, Venture Smith became known for A Narrative of the Life and Adventures of Venture, a Native of Africa: But Resident above Sixty Years in the United States of America, published in 1798. The work is widely valued as an early firsthand account of the Atlantic slave trade, enslavement, family separation, and the long struggle to buy freedom for himself and his family.

His life story describes capture in Africa, forced transport across the Atlantic, and years of labor in New England before he was able to purchase his freedom through persistence and business skill. That combination of suffering, determination, and practical resilience has made his narrative an important text in American history and African American literature.

He died in 1805, but his story continues to be read for its plainspoken power and historical importance. For listeners today, his narrative offers both a deeply personal voice and a rare window into the lived experience of the eighteenth century.