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The History of Mary Prince: A West Indian Slave
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Part 2Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Part 2 Summary: “Supplement to the History of Mary Prince by the Editor”
This section is written by Pringle to outline certain details surrounding Prince’s circumstances. He confirms that Prince went to the Anti-Slavery office for help immediately after leaving the Woods. Pringle accompanied Prince to see a solicitor, George Stephen, who wrote a statement of Prince’s case to submit to legal counsel. They sought to determine whether Prince could be granted her freedom in Antigua. He explains that she was eager to return to her husband but wary that if she returned to Antigua she would be enslaved anew and separated from him anyway. Pringle then includes the full text of the letter with which Mr. Wood sent Prince away, which refers to her as Molly and states that she can either leave their house and be free in England or return to Antigua. Wood expresses frustration that she will not work but does not mention that she was unable to do so at that point because of her illness. He also writes that he refuses to take her in again unless she behaves well. Pringle explains that this letter was meant to make it difficult for Prince to be trusted and gain help in England.
The Anti-Slavery Committee reviewed Prince’s case but found no legal recourse. A man named Mr. Ravenscroft was sent to meet with Wood in hopes of understanding under what conditions he might agree to free her. Angry and stubborn, Wood refused. The organization then considered taking the case to Parliament to call for the emancipation of all enslaved people who were brought to England. When this idea was mentioned to Wood, he changed his attitude but did not consent to immediately free her. Instead, he disparaged Prince’s character and managed to influence some of Prince’s supporters against speaking on her behalf in Parliament. Soon, the Woods returned to Antigua. When he could not succeed in freeing Prince, Pringle hired her as his domestic servant.
Later, Pringle made another attempt to secure Prince’s freedom. Through contact with the Moravian church, Pringle had a reverend write to Joseph Newby, a Moravian missionary in Antigua, to negotiate Prince’s manumission with Mr. Wood and pay him well. Additionally, Pringle had someone contact Sir Patrick Ross, the governor of Antigua, to persuade Mr. Wood. However, both Newby and Ross were unable to convince him to manumit her. The governor had also received a letter from Wood accusing Prince of ingratitude, immorality, and poor character and claiming that Prince’s husband had a new wife. After quoting the letter, Pringle addresses each false accusation in a numbered list of arguments. First, he criticizes the sense of entitlement that Wood demonstrates in punishing Prince’s alleged ingratitude to him with exile from Antigua. He also points out that Wood lacks facts to substantiate his claims of her poor behavior. Second, Pringle criticizes Wood’s claim that allowing Prince to return to Antigua would subject him to great insult. Pringle asserts that Wood could surely gain legal protection to keep her away from him. Third, Pringle states that it is absurd for Wood to claim that Prince’s immorality makes it unsafe for her to return unrestrained to the island. Fourth, Pringle rebuts Wood’s argument that Antigua is not Prince’s birthplace. Pringle admits that this is true but argues that her many years on the island give her a right to live there.
The next rebuttals relate to Prince’s marriage and morality. Fifth, Pringle picks apart Wood’s statement that he “induced” Prince to take a husband. Pringle identifies brutality in the implication that enslavers do not allow people who are enslaved to be legally married, yet they could admit to forcing two people to be wed. Further, based on Prince’s account, Wood was opposed to her marriage. Sixth, in response to Wood’s claims of Prince’s depravity, Pringle considers it illogical that someone as supposedly morally upright as Wood would want to keep such a person in his household caring for his children. Seventh, regarding Wood’s claim that James found a new wife, Pringle exposes that Wood first lied to James by telling him that Prince had a new husband and forced James off the property. Further, Pringle cites a recent letter from James to Prince proving his faithfulness to her. Eighth, Pringle responds to Wood’s claim that Prince tried to defame and falsely accuse him. Pringle states that Prince’s case stated only the facts, and there is substantial evidence to support her claims. Ninth, while Wood fears some legal liability for “dealing with a free person as a slave” (30), Pringle insists there is no such liability. To his claim that Prince saved a considerable amount of money, Pringle argues that Prince did not bring most of it with her to England. Last, while Wood repeats in his letter that he could provide more details and evidence if the governor requested it, Pringle insists that Wood do just that and respond to the discrepancies that he raises in this “Supplement.” Wood must now be accountable not only to the governor but also to the British public.
Pringle then fully quotes a letter from Joseph Philips, from Antigua, who attests to Wood’s harsh treatment of enslaved people and reports that it is a cruelty outdone only by his wife. Philips also observes that Prince was among their most trusted and dutiful enslaved people. Philips has no recollection of Prince’s having ever been arrested, one of Wood’s many accusations in his letter. Finally, Philips sees no reason to doubt Prince’s narrative testimony. Pringle also quotes a testimony from Mrs. Forsyth attesting to Prince’s good character.
Finally, Pringle attests to Prince’s good character based on his own experience with her as his house servant. He states, however, that regardless of her character, Wood refuses to manumit her as punishment for her leaving him in England. This case, Pringle believes, represents well the cruelty of this system. Pringle explains that Prince’s descriptions of her violent experience are not exaggerated, having witnessed such brutality in the West Indies himself. Finally, Pringle advocates for the abolition of slavery in the English colonies.
Part 2 Analysis
The “Supplement” includes a letter from Mr. Wood disparaging Prince and justifying his refusal to grant her manumission. The claim of immorality is a significant accusation against Prince in his letter and appears to be an important concern in the narrative overall. Wood accuses her of “ingratitude,” being of “very troublesome character” (27). As Wood challenges Prince’s morality, the narrative on a whole and Pringle in his “Supplement” must counter those claims. Each person quoted in the “Supplement” who speaks on Prince’s behalf comments positively on her character. Likewise, Prince establishes her good character in the body of her narrative as she presents her spiritual awakening in a way that is designed to appeal to the religious sentiment of her readers. For instance, she is open about her religious affiliation with the Moravian church and her commitment to God. When she first attends a prayer meeting, Prince frames herself as a humble sinner, despite the countless instances of abuse she suffers in The History of Mary Prince. She says, “I felt sorry for my sins also. I cried the whole night, but I was too much ashamed to speak. I prayed God to forgive me” (16). These lines highlight her humility as someone who suffered greatly yet accepts responsibility for any wrongs she may have committed. Further, Prince is careful about the language she uses. Refusing to quote Mrs. Wood’s cursing, Prince says, “It is not possible to tell all her ill language” (15). These instances serve as counterevidence to Wood’s claim of Prince’s immorality. Likewise, they represent an appeal to the reader, who must trust Prince and become convinced of her morality.
The text must simultaneously affirm Prince’s good moral character and insist that her right to freedom should not be contingent on that character. Pringle writes, “But after all, Mary’s character, important though its exculpation be to her, is not really the point of chief practical interest in this case” (35). His goal is to right the wrong that Wood commits against her, a fact that is not affected by Prince’s morality. Pringle’s “Supplement” is a strong defense of Prince and her case. In lieu of actual court proceedings, this document emulates the components of a court trial. Mr. Wood accuses Prince of immorality and ingratitude, while Prince serves as the defendant. As her advocate, Pringle takes on the role of disproving each of Wood’s accusations in exact detail, quoting the claims as he responds to them. In addition, Pringle presents evidence to support his claims. His “Supplement” calls on witnesses, including Joseph Philips, Mrs. Forsyth, and himself, to testify against Wood and in support of Prince. They offer their support in writing, signing their names in solidarity with her. Finally, Pringle calls upon the governor and the people to be judge and jury: “[Wood] has not to produce such a statement as will acquit him not only in the opinion of Sir Patrick Ross, but of the British public” (31). Ultimately, Pringle’s “Supplement” appears to be modeled after a court trial, constructing a compelling argument for Prince’s innocence.
The “Supplement” utilizes the specific argument for Prince’s innocence to establish a broader argument for the abolition of slavery in the British colonies. This is a common quality of narratives of enslavement in general. Typically, the specific story of the narrator is broadened to a general indictment of the institution of slavery. The narrator’s experience, then, is meant to be read as both individual and representative of enslaved people’s experiences. Pringle writes, “The case of Mary Prince is by no means a singular one; many of the same kind are daily occurring: and even if the case were singular, it would still loudly call for the interference of the legislature” (40). The “Supplement” is a final appeal to the government for abolition, reinforcing Prince’s multiple condemnations of the injustice of slavery in her narrative.
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