[1] Robert King was a Quaker merchant and a kind man, and he treated Equiano well. [2] He used Equiano to work at a number of jobs for him, yet he also hired him out to other merchants. [3] A certain boat captain of King's, Thomas Farmer, often traveled between the West Indies and North America, so he needed Equiano's services. [4] Because Equiano had sea-going experience, he could be quite useful to Farmer.