Who was
MARY PRINCE?
Mary Prince – the first Black woman to write an
autobiography, entitled “The History of Mary Prince: A West Indian
Slave”. Prince also became the
first woman to present an Anti-Slavery petition to parliament!
Her book, published
during the Abolition movement in February 1831, brought to the attention of
otherwise unknowing British readers, the horrors and misery of slave life on a
plantation. Her story echoed that of
hundreds of thousands of slaves who had been subject to incomprehensible abuse
and hardship at the hands of cruel slave masters. At the time,
readers found Prince’s account of the relentless violence too extreme to be
believable.
Her harrowing description
contributed to the emancipation of British slaves after the passing of the
Slavery Abolition Act in 1833.
Prince chillingly recalls one of the
many beatings she received from a brutal and sadistic Mr Wood - this time for marrying
without permission: “She [Mrs Woods]
could not forgive me for getting married, but stirred up Mr. Wood to flog me
dreadfully with the horsewhip. I thought
it very hard to be whipped at my time of life for getting a husband…”
Prince explains
how she suffered with rheumatism, and when unable to work, was subject to the
most unimaginable torture, locked in a cage and left to die. On several occasions, Prince begged for
another to buy her freedom, but Wood would not grant her this wish, as he knew,
when healthy, Prince worked tirelessly.
Around 1828,
Prince was taken to London but continued to suffer ill-health - unfortunately,
the belief that British air would appease her aching limbs proved only to be a
myth! However, London would eventually
enable liberty as the British legal system ceased to support slavery. Prince was able to escape ownership and
persistent persecution!
She absconded to
a church in Hatton Garden, finally taking refuge at the Anti-Slave Society, based in East London.
Prince
ensured her freedom and used it to campaign against slavery.
Her narrative is
truly distressing but a must-read to encourage appreciation of the struggle faced
by Black people during the slave trade.
In October 2007 a
commemorative plaque was mounted near Bloomsbury in London.
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