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Early life
Although the date and place of her birth are not documented, scholars believe that Wheatley was born in 1753 in West Africa, most likely in present-day Gambia or Senegal.She was sold by a local chief to a visiting trader, who took her to Boston in the then British Colony of Massachusetts, on July 11, 1761,on a slave ship called The Phillis.The vessel was owned by Timothy Fitch and captained by Peter Gwinn. -
Early Life
On arrival in Boston, Wheatley was bought by the wealthy Boston merchant and tailor John Wheatley as a slave for his wife Susanna. The Wheatleys named her Phillis, after the ship that had transported her to North America. She was given their last name of Wheatley, as was a common custom if any surname was used for enslaved people. -
Getting into writing
The Wheatleys' 18-year-old daughter, Mary, was Phillis's first tutor in reading and writing. Their son, Nathaniel, also tutored her. John Wheatley was known as a progressive throughout New England; his family afforded Phillis an unprecedented education for an enslaved person, and one unusual for a woman of any race at the time. By the age of 12, Phillis was reading Greek and Latin classics in their original languages, as well as difficult passages from the Bible. -
First poem
At the age of 14, she wrote her first poem, "To the University of Cambridge [Harvard], in New England" Recognizing her literary ability, the Wheatley family supported Phillis's education and left household labor to their other domestic enslaved workers. The Wheatleys often exhibited Phillis's abilities to friends and family. Strongly influenced by her readings of the works of Alexander Pope, John Milton, Homer, Horace and Virgil, Phillis began to write poetry -
Poems
In 1768, Wheatley wrote "To the King's Most Excellent Majesty", in which she praised King George III for repealing the Stamp Act. But while discussing the idea of freedom, Wheatley was able subtly to raise the idea of freedom for enslaved subjects of the king as well. -
Court
Many colonists found it difficult to believe that an African slave was writing "excellent" poetry. Wheatley had to defend her authorship of her poetry in court in 1772. She was examined by a group of Boston luminaries, including John Erving, Reverend Charles Chauncey, John Hancock, Thomas Hutchinson, the governor of Massachusetts, and his lieutenant governor Andrew Oliver. They concluded she had written the poems ascribed to her. -
Death
Phillis was pregnant at the time her husband abandoned her and lived the rest of her life in poverty. Phillis stopped writing in order to support herself and her soon to be born child. She found work in a boarding house, she was not used to physical work and soon she fell ill. She developed pneumonia and on December 5th, 1784 after giving birth to her daughter, Phillis died alone and poor, her daughter died the same day. Phillis was 31 years old.