author
Venture Smith
d. 1805
Kidnapped from West Africa as a child and enslaved in colonial New England, he later bought his freedom and built a life as a farmer, trader, and family man. His 1798 life story remains one of the earliest known autobiographical narratives by an African-born person in early America.
1 Audiobook
About the author
Born in West Africa around 1729, Venture Smith was captured as a boy and forced across the Atlantic into slavery. He was eventually taken to New England, where he endured years of hard labor before finding ways to earn money and purchase his freedom, and later the freedom of members of his family.
After gaining freedom, he became known in Connecticut as a hardworking farmer, fisherman, woodcutter, and trader. His life stands out not only for his determination and business sense, but also because he left behind a remarkable first-person account of enslavement, survival, and self-emancipation.
That account, published in 1798 as A Narrative of the Life and Adventures of Venture, a Native of Africa, gives readers a rare window into the eighteenth century through his own experience. Today he is remembered as an important early Black autobiographical voice in American history.