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Francis Williams (–1770) was a scholar and
poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...
born in Kingston,
Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...
, who travelled to Europe and became a citizen of Britain. In the 1720s, he returned to Jamaica, where he set up a free school for the children of
Free black people in Jamaica Free black people in Jamaica fell into two categories. Some secured their freedom officially, and lived within the slave communities of the Colony of Jamaica. Others ran away from slavery, and formed independent communities in the forested mountai ...
.


Early life and family

Francis Williams was born around 1700 to John and Dorothy Williams, a free black couple in the
Colony of Jamaica The Crown Colony of Jamaica and Dependencies was a British colony from 1655, when it was captured by the English Protectorate from the Spanish Empire. Jamaica became a British colony from 1707 and a Crown colony in 1866. The Colony was pri ...
. John Williams had been freed in 1699 by the will of his former master.''Journals of the Assembly of Jamaica'', Vol. 2, 19 November 1724, pp. 509–512. The Williams family's status as free, property-owning black people set them apart from other Jamaican inhabitants, who were at the time mostly British colonists and
enslaved Africans The Atlantic slave trade, transatlantic slave trade, or Euro-American slave trade involved the transportation by slave traders of enslaved African people, mainly to the Americas. The slave trade regularly used the triangular trade route and i ...
. Eventually, the Williams family property expanded to include both land and slaves. Though it was rare for black people in the 18th century to receive an education, Francis Williams and his siblings were able to afford schooling due to their father's wealth. Francis travelled to Europe, where he was reported to be in 1721.


In England

Francis was also made a
naturalized citizen Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-citizen of a country may acquire citizenship or nationality of that country. It may be done automatically by a statute, i.e., without any effort on the part of the in ...
of
Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...
, a status unavailable to enslaved people. He took the oath of citizenship in 1723. Some, like
Edward Long Edward Long (23 August 1734 – 13 March 1813) was an English-born British colonial administrator, slave owner and historian, and author of a highly controversial work, ''The History of Jamaica'' (1774). He was a polemic defender of slavery. Li ...
, reported that Francis Williams was the beneficiary of a
social experiment A social experiment is a type of Psychology, psychological or Sociology, sociological research for testing people's reactions to certain situations or events. The experiment depends on a particular social approach where the main source of inform ...
devised by
John Montagu, 2nd Duke of Montagu John Montagu, 2nd Duke of Montagu, (1690 – 5 July 1749), styled Viscount Monthermer until 1705 and Marquess of Monthermer between 1705 and 1709, was a British peer. Life Montagu was an owner of a coal mine. Montagu went on the grand tour wi ...
to determine whether adequate education could lead Williams to match the intellectual achievements of his white contemporaries. This story holds that the Duke paid for Williams to attend an English grammar school and then continue at the
University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
, a narrative likely originating from Montagu's relationships with Job Ben Solomon and
Ignatius Sancho Charles Ignatius Sancho ( – 14 December 1780) was a British abolitionist, writer and composer. Born on a slave ship in the Atlantic, Sancho was sold into slavery in the Spanish colony of New Granada. After his parents died, Sancho's owner t ...
. However, Cambridge has no record of Williams' attendance; furthermore the Williams family's wealth could have easily supported his overseas education without the Duke's sponsorship.


In Jamaica

In the 1720s, Williams returned to Jamaica, where he set up a free school for black children. In 18th-century Jamaica, most free schools were only open to the children of poor white inhabitants. Wealthy planters had bequeathed property and funds to establish foundations to educate poor white children and coloureds who could be classified as white. In his school, Williams taught reading, writing, Latin and mathematics. Supporters of slavery, such as Long, tried to downplay the educational accomplishments of Williams. Long's ''History of Jamaica'' contains a note about the possible attribution of "Welcome, Brother Debtor", a fol
tune
that gained popularity in Britain during the 18th century, to Williams or to Wetenhall Wilkes. However, Williams encountered discrimination on his return to Jamaica. In 1724, a white planter named William Brodrick insulted Williams, calling him a "black dog", whereupon Williams reacted by calling Brodrick a "white dog" several times. Brodrick punched Williams, as a result of which his "mouth was bloody", but Williams retaliated, after which Brodrick's "shirt and neckcloth had been tore ''(sic)'' by the said Williams". Williams insisted that since he was a free black man, he could not be tried for assault, as would have been the case with black slaves who hit a white man, because he was defending himself. The Assembly, which comprised elected white planters, was alarmed at the success with which Williams argued his case, and how he secured the dismissal of Brodrick's attempts to prosecute him. Complaining that "Williams's behaviour is of great encouragement to the negroes of the island in general", the Assembly then decided to "bring in a bill to reduce the said Francis Williams to the state of other free negroes in this island". This legislation made it illegal for any black person in Jamaica to strike a white person, even in self-defence.


Poetry

;"An Ode to
George Haldane George Haldane was born in 1722 to the Clan Haldane. His father Patrick Haldane was a lawyer and politician, and his uncle Mungo Haldane was also a politician. Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn is one of his descendants. Biography He joined t ...
" (excerpt) Rash councils now, with each malignant plan, Each faction, in that evil hour began, At your approach are in confusion fled, Nor while you rule, shall raise their dastard head. Alike the master and the slave shall see Their neck , the yoke unbound by thee. ;"Welcome, welcome Brother Debtor" (excerpt) What was is made great Alexander Weep at his unfriendly fate twas because he cou'd not Wander beyond the World's strong Prison Gate For the World is also bounded by the heavens and Stars above Why should We then be confounded Since there's nothing free but Jove.D'Costa, Jean. "Oral Literature, Formal Literature: The Formation of Genre in Eighteenth-Century Jamaica", ''Eighteenth-Century Studies'', vol. 27, no. 4: African-American Culture in the Eighteenth-Century, Summer 1994 (pp. 663–676), p. 668
JSTOR.
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See also

*
Black British elite The Black elite is any elite, either political or economic in nature, that is made up of people who identify as of Black African descent. In the Western World, it is typically distinct from other national elites, such as the United Kingdom's ari ...
, Williams' class in Britain *
Ignatius Sancho Charles Ignatius Sancho ( – 14 December 1780) was a British abolitionist, writer and composer. Born on a slave ship in the Atlantic, Sancho was sold into slavery in the Spanish colony of New Granada. After his parents died, Sancho's owner t ...
, another protégé of the Montagu family *
Phillis Wheatley Phillis Wheatley Peters, also spelled Phyllis and Wheatly ( – December 5, 1784) was an American author who is considered the first African-American author of a published book of poetry. Gates, Henry Louis, ''Trials of Phillis Wheatley: Ameri ...
, another early Black poet writing in English contemporaneously


References


External links

* Williams, Francis. "Carmen, or, An Ode", in Thomas W. Krise
''Caribbeana: An Anthology of English Literature, 1657-1777''
The University of Chicago Press, 1999, pp. 315–317.

State University of New York at Buffalo. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Francis 1702 births 1770 deaths People from Kingston, Jamaica Black British writers 18th-century Jamaican people 18th-century Jamaican poets Free people of color