Born: 1 October 1788 (circa), Bermuda
Died: after 1833
Country most active: United Kingdom
Also known as: Mary James
This bio, written by Julia McFarland, has been shared with permission. Follow Julia on Instagram: @historys_heroines.
Mary Prince (c 1.10.1788 – after 1833) was a British abolitionist and writer. Her account of her enslavement ‘The History of Mary Prince’ which she co-authored was the first account of a black woman to be published in the UK. It showed how brutal a slave’s world really was. The anti slavery movement gained impetus from its reprinting. When she was 12 she and her siblings were sold to different masters. Her new owners were cruel and she was often flogged. She was sold once again to salt mines where she worked 17 hour days. She returned to Bermuda where she was born for yet another abusive master who would force her to bathe with him. In 1815 she was sold and went to Antigua where she joined the Moravian church and learned to read. She married Daniel James who worked as a carpenter. Her owner flogged her as they disliked her husband living on the property. She travelled to London with her owners. Things became increasingly difficult she took refuge in the Moravian church with an abolitionist who tried to help her. Her owners would not free her so if she returned to Antigua she would be re-enslaved. It is not known whether she returned to her husband but in 1834 the law was changed. So she would have returned as a freed woman.