Phillis Wheatley was the second African-American slave to break the chains of slavery to emerge as a writer. She was the first African-American writer to be published in the United States. with his book poems on various topics published in 1773, two years before the start of the American Revolutionary War during which she became a strong supporter of independence

Phillis Wheatley: Captured and sold into slavery

Born in 1753, in what is now Senegal, some other sources say Gambia in West Africa, was captured by Africans, sold into slavery and named after the slave ship, phillis, which transported it across the Atlantic to America. It was brought to Boston, Massachusetts, on July 11, 1761. There, a wealthy tailor, John Wheatley, bought it for her wife, Susannah. John Wheatley was also a prominent Boston merchant who ran a wholesale business, real estate, warehouses, docks, and Schooner London Packet. He owned several slaves. But since the slaves were already out of their active periods of life, her wife had expressed a desire for a younger black girl whom she could gently and gradually educate to become a faithful servant.

According to an account published by George Light in 1834, he visited the slave market to make a personal selection of those offered for sale. There he found several robust and healthy females, exhibited at the same time with Phillis, who was of a slender build, and evidently suffering from change of climate. Seeing her humble and modest demeanor and interesting features of her, the choice for her fell on this girl immediately. The poor naked girl, covered only by a fair amount of dirty rug, was carried home in Mrs. Wheatley’s chair and cradled comfortably.

Susannah Wheatley was a fervent Christian and admirer of the charismatic and eloquent Calvinist preacher, George Whitefield, who was then moving the nation. Phyllis felt lucky in her new surroundings, as Mrs. Wheatley had a compassionate heart especially drawn to her. Although she was very fragile, Phillis’s remarkable intelligence drew everyone around her as they became more alert and appreciated her gifts.

Phillis Wheatley: His education in America

The sooner Phillis was introduced to the family, her daughter, Mary, took it upon herself to teach her to read and write. Her rapid progress, her amiable disposition and the correctness of her behavior won her mistress’s good will. She therefore, she was not assigned to menial occupations, as she was originally intended; she was also not allowed to associate with the other servants of the family, who were of the same color and condition as hers, but her mistress kept her close to her.

The family ensured that he received a good education, including the study of foreign languages ​​such as Latin and history. Therefore, she Mary tutored her in English, Latin, history, geography, religion, and the Bible. She was taught to read and in a very short time she began to read Latino writers. In addition to knowing the Bible, three poets – Milton, Pope and Gray – deeply moved her, and from then on she began to write poems strongly influenced by them. There is no evidence to say whether the Wheatleys were reprimanded for raising the young slave girl, but the Wheatleys, being deeply committed Christians, thought of her as a soul in need of salvation first and foremost, so they really had her spiritual defense. ready in case you are confronted with such verbal reprimands.

Phillis Wheatley: her growing recognition as a writer

His first poem was published in 1767 in the newport mercury. In 1770, the young Phillis Wheatley gained much acclaim in the Boston area with the growing impact of one of her early poems titled “On the Death of the Reverend Mr. George Whitefield.” This poetic piece also became her trademark “morality.” as the “her talent” of hers. In each of her works, God was always honored. She kept writing more of those poems. She soon collected enough to include it in her collection. She thus became the first African-American woman to have a book published when her Poems on various themes, religious and moral It was published in 1773.

Because many whites found it hard to believe that a black woman could be intelligent enough to write poetry, in 1772 Wheatley had to defend her literary ability before a group of Boston luminaries, including John Erving, the Reverend Charles Chauncey, John Hancock, Thomas Hutchinson, Governor of Massachusetts, and his Lieutenant Governor Andrew Oliver. After extensive examination and cross-examination, they concluded that she had, in fact, written the poems herself, and signed a certificate to that effect that was published in the preface to her book. poems on various topics, Religious and Moral published in Aldgate, London in 1773. The book was published in London because the Boston publishers refused to publish it.

Phillis Wheatry’s trip to London: there he meets more notables and is published

Wheatley and his master’s son, Nathanial Wheatley, went to London, when she fell ill and was prescribed “fresh sea air” as a remedy for her respiratory ailment.

In London he met Selina, Countess of Huntingdon and Earl of Dartmouth, who helped with the publication.

Accompanied by Nathaniel Wheatley they set sail for England. During his visit, in addition to taking the opportunity to have his works published, he was also able to meet several notables, such as British dignitaries and intellectuals such as Lord Lincoln, Lady Cavendish, Mrs. Palmer, poet and Mayor of London, who knew his poetry, celebrated her literary ability and endeavored to assist her in her publication. But it was the Countess of Huntingdon who helped her the most. Wheatley found a reliable ally in Selina, Countess of Huntingdon. This evangelical English woman with ties to Whitefield to whom the Phillis’ Mistress was very devoted had read Phillis’s poetry and arranged for its publication in London.

The frontispiece of the original edition requested by the Countess bears clear indications of the author’s identity and skill: “Phillis Wheatley, Negro Servant to Mr John Wheatley of Boston” with an engraving of the young black woman at her desk with a paper in front of her. her, and holding a book in one hand and a pen in the other. The image is said to have been made by a young African-American slave, Scipio Moorhead.

While in London, he was also honored to have the American statesman, writer, and scientist then serving as the American ambassador there, Benjamin Franklin, come to pay him a courtesy call.

Phillis Wheatley’s Achievements as a Writer Set Her FreePhillis’s literary gifts, intelligence, and piety were a striking example to his English and American audiences of the triumph of native human capabilities over the circumstances of birth. But upon receiving the news of Mrs. Wheatley’s fatal illness, she had to interrupt her stay in England.

Her popularity as a poet in both the United States and England finally freed her from slavery on October 18, 1773. This was the result of increasing pressure from the Wheatleys’ friends she made in Britain and from abolitionists. She even appeared before General Washington in March 1776 for her poetry, especially the poem she wrote in October 1775 in his honor. After the death of the Wheatley family, Wheatley married a free black grocer named John Peters in a marriage that produced three children, two of whom died early. The Wheatleys didn’t want Peters. He may have been a defender of black rights, but lacking a steady job, he was imprisoned for debt in 1784, where he remained until Phyllis’s death. She spent her last years alone and in great poverty in a dilapidated boarding house in Boston while she eked out a living as a servant. In December of that year, she and her remaining son died in poverty and were buried in an unmarked grave. She died at the age of 31. Her third child died only a few hours after her death. At the time of her death, there was a second volume of her poetry, but this or any other work of hers has never been seen.

Sources:.

Gates, Louis, Jr and Nellie Y. McKay, l (eds) The Norton Anthology of African American Literature1997 New York

AFRICAN Arts and Letters. An A-Z reference to writers, musicians, and artists of African-American experiences