Mary Prince Day – Jul. 31, 2026

Expected Mary Prince Day Deals

Mary Prince Day, as a Cause holiday, focuses less on commercial deals and more on awareness and education. Organizations like the Bermuda National Trust and the National Museum of Bermuda often host educational events, lectures, and exhibitions related to Mary Prince’s life and the history of slavery. Look for opportunities to support human rights initiatives through donations to groups like Anti-Slavery International or the Equal Justice Initiative. Local Bermudian businesses may participate by sponsoring educational programs or encouraging staff to engage in community service. We will update this page with confirmed events and initiatives as July approaches.

History of Mary Prince Day

Mary Prince was born into slavery at Devonshire Parish on October 1, 1788. When her mother’s master died that year, Prince, her mother, and her siblings were sold as household servants to Captain Darrell. She had been sold three times since the age of 12. In 1810, Prince was returned to Bermuda, where her master had relocated with his daughter. She was physically mistreated by her master while she was here, but Prince stood up to him twice — once to defend his daughter, who he also beat, and again to defend herself when he hit her for dropping cooking utensils. After that, she was hired out to Cedar Hill for a time, where she washed clothes for her owner and earned money for him.

In 1815, Prince was sold a fourth time, to John Adams Wood of Antigua. When Wood was traveling, Prince earned money for herself by taking in washing and by selling coffee, yams, and other provisions to ships. She was baptized in the English church in 1817 and accepted for communion, but she was afraid to ask Wood for permission to attend. In December 1826, Prince married Daniel James, a former enslaved man who had bought his freedom by saving money from his work. He was a cooper and carpenter.

In 1828 Wood and his family traveled to London and took Prince with them as a servant. By that time, it was illegal to transport those that were enslaved out of England, but it did not make slavery illegal in the country, even though public opinion believed it did. Prince and Wood had increasing conflict here. They ended up giving her a letter that nominally gave her the right to leave but suggested that no one should hire her.

Prince sought refuge in the Moravian church in Hatton Garden after leaving the household. Within a few weeks, she began working part-time for Thomas Pringle, a writer and Secretary of the Anti-Slavery Society, which assisted black persons in need. Prince obtained employment with the Forsyths, but they left England in 1829. In 1829, the Woods left England and returned to Antigua with their daughter. Pringle attempted to have Wood manumit Prince for her to gain legal independence. He refused, which meant Prince could not return to her husband and friends without being re-enslaved and bowing to Wood’s rule as long as slavery was legal in Antigua.

After failing to reach an agreement, the Anti-Slavery Society considered petitioning Parliament to grant the Prince’s manumission. Prince had Susana Strickland transcribe her life story after being encouraged by Pringle. The work was released in 1831 as “The History of Mary Prince,” with Pringle serving as editor. Her first-hand account impacted many people at a time when the anti-slavery movement was rising. She testified in two libel cases in 1833. The Slavery Abolition Act was approved that year, and it went into effect in August 1834. In Bermuda, which was not reliant on slavery, emancipation occurred very soon after the law was passed in 1834.

How Businesses Can Celebrate Mary Prince Day