Why Is Mary Prince Considered An Inhumane?

Mary Prince has been able to transcend her truth as well as the truth of other slaves within African culture. The selfless contribution that Prince was able to bestow under her circumstance, while facing risk that could have had her murdered, speaks volumes to the dignity and bravery that African descending people encompass as a whole. In orchestrating a request to expel her truth about the constant physical and mental hardships she endured as a slave. Prince is deemed as a modre for those who later blazed the trail to expose the inhumane treatment of such persons who were enslaved.
While Mary Prince unpacks what it means to live a life surrounded by immoral circumstance, her will to reveal her truth about the inhumane conditions of slavery makes her an unbeknownst warrior within African culture. Moreover, the grace and enigma that Prince embodies as she tells stories with Masters who shall remain nameless, speaks volumes to her character as a black woman. Princes’ ability to dissect her truth about slavery within the era of the 1800’s and beyond, sparked an immense sense of controversy as the truth revealed that the depiction of slavery was
never one that could be projected in a positive light no matter how it was framed. In fact, Mary Prince placed an emphasis on debunking the myth that slaves enjoyed being held captive. Taking into account that Prince emphasized in her letter “I have been a slave myself, I know what slaves feel, I can tell by myself what other slaves feel, and by what they have told me” (Prince 343). This level of commiseration places Prince in a position that allows for her to relay language that interprets the conditions that she has truly lived through by being the first woman to fight for worldly freedom and not just that amongst one segmented group of people.
With such a reputation of being one of the leading predecessors of the anti slavery movement, it is difficult to speak of such a tenure without giving a vivid image of a woman who shared many of the common slave struggles as Prince did. Harriet Tubman could arguably be one of the most comparable and influential anti slavery activist hailing after the time of Mary Prince. In terms of family hood, charisma, and wit it is inevitable to speak of an influence such as Prince without thinking about the great Harriet Tubman and how her bravery was subconsciously in connection with that of a woman like Prince. Although both women used significantly different tactics to suppress slavery, it was hard not to think of Ms. Tubman as I constantly glossed over each significant stride in the life of Mary Prince. Without derailing from the core, in short Harriet Tubman’s captivity as a woman who freed over 300 slaves and “never lost a single passenger” (Tubman Pbs) enables readers to understand the horrific conditions these enslaved people endured, so much so that they much rather risk gaining freedom by exposing or escaping, then to simply wither away as a bondaged worker. This account can compare to the immense impact that Mary Prince had after unveiling the truth about the conditions of slavery upon her caribbean shores and her latest conditions in Antigua under the ownership of John Adams Woods Jr. With the grueling conditions and physical impairments that Prince lived through daily until escaping and being free in England, it is gut wrenching to think that anyone could be under the impression that slavery was a savior for the militant culture of colored people. While in England, Prince was soon able to place an imagery on the freedom she longed for. In being able to acknowledge the liberty to choose is what captivated Prince to escape in England, and Tubman to flea towards the North. Prince was able to acknowledge that, “That’s just what we wanted” (Prince 343). Placing the emphasis on we made it clear that to choose your life meant more than just to have freedom in England or in the North, but it was a unification that was able to clear the fable that all slaves did not long for freedom all across this sphere.
As I tread the cusp of why Prince and Tubman relate.
I found their most significant circumstance as it relates to the romantic era is the manner in which both women set out to endure union through marriage. Both Daniel James (Husband of Prince) and John Tubman (Harriet’s first husband) were free men before their wives. Although each circumstance had their turning points, one must acknowledge that these women knew very early on that the lives in which they wanted for themselves were surrounded by having a family environment in which they could be free. In witnessing freedom through the lense of their spouses it inevitably molded their yearning to fight against this oppression against people. In no manner is it appropriate to suggest that these women aimed to be this similar in terms of context throughout their
livelihoods.
These subtle comparisons personify the theory that Africans and African Americans through the era of the 1800’s and beyond have captivated an essence and a willingness to strive for a life greater than their circumstances during the era slavery. Furthermore, it speaks to the reality that African descending people were never apart of a subhuman category, and the dependence upon their work ethic and economic stability was something that slave owners prowled for and harboured over in times of despair.
So in understanding the essence of who Mary Prince is based off of her historic autobiography, one must acknowledge how she embodies what it truly means to be a woman who understood her worth, and that it was not comparable to being a slave all of her days. In closing, as one compares the struggles of many enslaved women of this era, it is just to acknowledge that what each enslaved person truly believed is that “To be free is very sweet” (Prince 340).