Phillis Wheatley was a slave that had been writing poetry since she was only twelve years old, and is considered to be the very first African American poet, and the third woman to ever have had their work published (according to the National Womans History Museum). When her owner fell sick, they moved to London where she continued to publish her poems, receiving the support of many prominent British figures (according to this article by the Poetry Foundation).
In 1784, after contracting pneumonia, she would sadly pass away after birthing a daughter at the age of 31 years old.
In Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral, Wheatley wrote, “In every human Beast, God has implanted a Principle, which we call Love of Freedom; it is impatient of Oppression, and pants for Deliverance” .
