West Africa (c 1753-December 5, 1784) age ~31 yrs

Phyllis Wheatley, born free, was the first published African female poet. She was born in West Africa. At the age of 7 or 8, she was sold into slavery and transported to North America. After being kidnapped and taken to Boston on a slave ship, Wheatley landed in relatively fortunate circumstances. A Boston family treated her well and encouraged her education. In this environment, she cultivated her natural gifts for verse and language. She mastered Greek and Latin. Local scholars were amazed. Many of them had genuinely believed such feats to be beyond the capacity of Africans. Wheatley’s reputation and personal magnetism gained her admiration both in the US and England. After her death she became a potent symbol of Black intellectual accomplishment in the ideological battle against slavery.