It is possible that Vassa - by recounting the story of both names and by choosing to use Vassa even when he could revert to his birth name - was deliberately creating an image of himself as one destined to lead. Jacob, after all, is considered the father of Israel and Gustav Vasa, the father of Sweden. A popular Igbo name is Afamefuna, which translates to 'may my name never  
be lost'. Stripping an Igbo man of his name is stripping him of not just his identity but also of his destiny. Vassa would have been aware of this. This could also explain his alleged protestation of being stripped of his second slave name, Jacob. A name with a destiny that is much more aligned to Vassa's birth name than Michael, his first slave name. What is worth noting here, too, is the implied parallel Vassa seems to draw between himself and another Biblical hero, Moses, in the incident with Governor Macnamara. It is obvious that he believes that he is a leader of men.  
Vassa served Captain Pascal until December 1762, during which time he lived with the Guerins, Pascal's cousins. He was sent to school, was christened at Westminster and took part in naval campaigns in Canada and the Mediterranean. He was baptized Gustavus Vassa in St Margaret's Church, Westminster, in February 1759. Miss Guerin, one of the two Guerin sisters with whom he spent some time in Blackheath, London, was his godmother. Serving Pascal opened up opportunities for Vassa which would otherwise have been closed to him had he been a plantation slave. This period also gave Vassa a lifelong love of England.