How Did Phillis Wheatley Change

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Phillis Wheatley, a Symbol of Change There are many famous authors in the world, authors who have written documents of great importance, poems that make grown men weep, and fictional books that transport our imagination to other lands. Though authors can change the course of history with articles and manuscripts that can sway the minds of common people, not too many authors have made history. Phillis Wheatley, however, is one of the few that have succeeded in doing so. Phillis Wheatley (1753-1784) was the first female African-American to properly publish a book. Her works in poems have been read by some of the world’s most renowned scholars and politicians including George Washington. Even Voltaire commented on her wonderful English …show more content…
As a young child she lived in West Africa where she was born, but not much is known about her family or village. At the age of eight, she was taken from her home and sold by a neighboring chief to a close by trader. She was put aboard a ship in 1761 named The Phillis, owned by Timothy Fitch. Soon after they docked at Boston Phillis was sold to a merchant named John Wheatley. John named her after the ship that took her from her home country and gave her his last name as was custom for slaves. He then took the young girl home to become a servant to his wife, Savannah. The Wheatley’s treated her kindly as John and Savannah were known as progressives who looked ahead to the future of the country. Savannah saw that Phillis was a bright, clever young girl so she decided to teach her to read and write. Under the direction of Savannah, Mary Wheatley, the Weatley’s eighteen-year-old daughter, gave Phillis lessons, including English, Greek, and Latin. Phillis was kept busy what with the duties of being a servant and her education, but Savannah took the young girl under her wing and Phillis …show more content…
She was still quite young after all, and had a whole bright future ahead of her. Mr. Wheatley freed her from slavery and Phillis traveled to London to receive medical help for a sickness she had. When she returned, many of the members of the Wheatley family had passed away, including John and Savannah Wheatley. Phillis then met a young, freed, African-American grocer named John Peters. In 1778 they were married. Sadly, the young couple suffered from poverty. Phillis had two children with John Peters, both of whom were miscarriages. On December 5, 1784, while having her third child, Phillis died in childbirth at her home in Boston, Massachusetts. The infant passed away not to long afterwards. Phillis was
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