It is used to justify slavery and, later, to use it against it. Slave owners took passages from the Bible and interpreted them as God's plan to own slaves and conform them to Christianity. This was the Christian thing to do according to God's will. The Bible was a powerful tool for slaves and was often forbidden for an African to obtain it. This is evidenced by the fact that Equiano failed to purchase a Bible during his voyage to the West Indies. Slaves would be able to find encouragement from the Scriptures and any possibility of rebellion or enlightenment was a fear to slave owners. The abolition movement was founded by Quakers to end the slave trade. Their campaign was based on the belief that God created everyone equal in his eyes. Quakers preached reform in the West Indies, American and British colonies. The meaning that the Quakers have is represented by the countless encounters and involvements with which Equiano shares