So I say that Equiano himself had to live with slaves, play with the children of slaves in his father's compound, in his village, they went to the stream, fetched water, bonded friendship with them and eating with them. Of course, that wouldn't have disposed him to imagine the kinds of things that would happen to him outside of Africa. He would have been deported, after being captured, the worst he expected was death. (PBS) When it came to slavery in America, it was very different because those slaves in Africa and the American slaves were treated horribly. “The slave was not free to leave his owner's compound or farm and go to another farm, or return to his parents. And if he tried to escape, he might be sold or killed or something. This made it difficult for slaves to escape.”