Mary Prince was the first Black woman to publish an autobiography detailing her experiences in slavery. Born into slavery in Bermuda, she was sold multiple times and endured severe hardships across the Caribbean. In 1828, she traveled to England, where she eventually gained her freedom and became a powerful voice in the abolitionist movement. Her book, The History of Mary Prince, published in 1831, was one of the first accounts written by a black woman to expose readers to the cruel realities of slavery.
Mary Prince was born into slavery on October 1, 1788, in Brackish Pond, Devonshire Parish, Bermuda. Her father, known only as Prince, was a sawyer enslaved by David Trimmingham, while her mother, Sue, was a house servant owned by Charles Myners. When Myners died in 1788, Mary and her family were sold to Captain George Darrell, who later gifted Mary and her mother to his daughter. Mary became a companion servant to her young granddaughter, Betsey Williams.
At the age of 12, she was sold for £38 to Captain John Ingham, a cruel enslaver who frequently flogged her for minor mistakes. Mary was later sold at auction for £100 to Robert Darrell, who sent her to the Turks and Caicos Islands to work in the salt ponds. This work was grueling—she spent long hours standing in water, exposed to the sun and salt, which caused painful sores and other health problems. The salt industry was a significant part of Bermuda’s economy, and enslaved Africans were forced to work under extreme conditions for the benefit of their owners.
In 1815, Prince was sold for the fourth time to John Adams Wood of Antigua for $300. She worked as a domestic slave in his household, caring for children and washing clothes. Over time, she developed rheumatism, which left her in constant pain. Despite her suffering, she found ways to earn small amounts of money by washing clothes and selling goods to sailors.
While in Antigua, she joined the Moravian Church, where she learned to read and was baptized in 1817. In 1826, she married Daniel James, a free Black carpenter and cooper. However, her marriage angered her enslavers, who did not want a free Black man associated with their household. After her marriage, they punished her even more harshly, subjecting her to increased mistreatment and physical abuse.
In 1828, Prince traveled to England with the Wood family, serving them as a domestic servant. In England, she saw an opportunity for freedom, as slavery was not legally recognized there. However, her enslaver refused to manumit (free) her, meaning that if she returned to Antigua, she would still be enslaved. In response, Prince left the Wood household and sought refuge with the Moravian Church in London.
She later found work with the abolitionist Thomas Pringle, Secretary of the Anti-Slavery Society. Pringle and his associates tried to purchase her freedom, but John Wood refused. Since she could not return to Antigua without risking re-enslavement, she remained in England and became actively involved in the abolitionist movement.
Encouraged by Pringle, Prince dictated her life story to Susanna Strickland, a writer who transcribed and helped edit the account. The result was The History of Mary Prince, a West Indian Slave, Related by Herself, published in 1831. This was the first personal narrative of an enslaved Black woman published in the United Kingdom.
Prince’s autobiography provided firsthand testimony of the horrors of slavery, offering detailed descriptions of the physical abuse she endured, the pain of being separated from her family, and the relentless labour imposed on enslaved Africans. She refuted claims that enslaved Africans were content, writing:
“I have been a slave myself—I know what slaves feel—I can tell by myself what other slaves feel, and by what they have told me. The man that says slaves be quite happy in slavery—that they don’t want to be free—that man is either ignorant or a lying person.”
The book was an instant success, going through three editions in its first year. It fueled the growing anti-slavery movement in Britain, increasing public pressure for abolition.
Prince’s autobiography was met with fierce opposition from pro-slavery advocates. James MacQueen, editor of The Glasgow Courier, attacked her credibility, calling her a tool of abolitionists and questioning her morals. Her former enslaver, John Wood, sued Pringle for libel, claiming that the book misrepresented his character. Wood won the case, and Pringle was ordered to pay £25 in damages.
Prince testified in these trials, but little is known about her life after 1833. That same year, Britain passed the Slavery Abolition Act, which granted freedom to enslaved people across the British Empire, though full emancipation was delayed until 1838. It is unclear whether Prince ever returned to her husband in Antigua.
Mary Prince’s courage in sharing her story played a crucial role in the fight against slavery. Her book gave enslaved Africans a voice in the abolitionist movement and helped shape public opinion in Britain. In recognition of her impact, in 2007, a commemorative plaque was unveiled in Bloomsbury, London, where she once lived.
Sources
http://bernews.com/2011/06/premier-unveils-plaque-honouring-mary-prince/
