![]() ![]() Though Mary played an important part in the anti-slavery campaign of the 1830s, she was not looked upon as a campaigner in her own right. Prince's account was also used by Thomas Pringle, the leader of the Anti-Slavery Society, to put pressure on Parliament. It particularly appealed to female anti-slavery campaigners as it highlighted the effect of slavery upon domestic life: the break up of families, the absence of 'normal' married life, the sexual oppression and the humiliation endured by female slaves. The autobiography had a tremendous impact, published when the campaign to support the slavery still continuing in the Americas and the Caribbean was at its height. It is possible that Strickland may have edited out some details to make Mary seem more 'respectable'. Strickland was careful to write Mary's story in Standard English and to arrange it to make it acceptable to the British public. She narrated her life story to the author Susannah Strickland. Unsure of her legal status, she decided to go public with her experiences as a slave. After years of mistreatment she tried unsuccessfully to gain her freedom, first through the courts and then via a petition to Parliament. ![]() Mary Prince was born on Barbados but was brought to London in the 1820s by her owners, the Woods. ![]() This is the only known autobiographical account, published in 1831, of a female slave from the British West Indies. ![]()
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