The author's account commence as he is presenting the audience to the person / male prior to obtain a brief look of the person in bondage. The author guarantees the audience that he is not trying to gain prestige. He commences by letting the audience know that he is not a great person nor a bully or a holy figure.
The story commences with information about the author's relatives and culture. The audience is informed that Olaudah was born in 1745 in Nigeria in a town called Essaka in the kingdom