He always had an earnest desire to understand navigation, as a probable means of one day escaping from slavery. Having persuaded a sea-captain to give him lessons, he applied himself with great diligence, though obliged to contend with many obstacles, and subject to frequent interruptions. Doctor Irving, with whom he once lived as a servant, taught him to render salt water fresh by distillation. Some time after, when engaged in a northern expedition, he made good use of this knowledge, and furnished the crew with water they could drink.
His sympathies were, very naturally, given to the weak and the despised, wherever he found them. He deplores the fate of modern Greeks, nearly as much degraded by the Turks as the negroes are by their white brethren. In 1789, Vasa
presented a petition to the British parliament, for the suppression of the slave-trade. His son, named Sancho, was assistant librarian to Sir Joseph Banks, and Secretary to the Committee for Vaccination.
Another negro, named Ignatius Sancho, was born on board a Guinea ship, where his parents were both captives, destined for the South American slave market. Change of climate killed his mother, and his father committed suicide. At two years old the orphan was carried to England, and presented to some ladies residing at Greenwich. Something in his character reminded them of Don Quixote's squire, and they added Sancho to his original name of Ignatius. The Duke of Montague saw him frequently and thought he had a mind worthy of cultivation. He often sent him books, and advised the ladies to give him a chance for education; but they had less liberal views, and often threatened to send the poor boy again into slavery. After the death of his friends, he went into the service of the Duchess of Montague, who at her death left him an annuity of thirty pounds; beside which he had saved seventy pounds out of his earnings.
Something of dissipation mixed with his love of reading, and sullied the better part of his character. He spent his last shilling at Drury Lane, to see Garrick, who was extremely friendly to him. At one time he thought of performing African characters on the stage, but was prevented by a bad articulation.
He afterward became very regular in his habits, and married a worthy West Indian girl. After his death, two volumes of his letters were printed, of which a second edition was soon published, with a portrait of the author, designed by Gainsborough, and engraved by Bartolozzi.
Sterne formed an acquaintance with Ignatius Sancho; and in the third volume of his letters, there is an epistle addressed to this African, in which he tells him that varieties in nature do not sunder the bands of brotherhood; and expresses his indignation that certain men wish to class their equals among the brutes, in order to treat them as such with impunity. Jefferson criticises Sancho with some severity, for yielding too much to an eccentric imagination; but he acknowledges that he has an easy style, and a happy choice of expressions.
The letters of Sancho are thought to bear some resemblance to those of Sterne, both in their beauties and defects.
Francis Williams, a negro, was born in Jamaica. The Duke of Montaigne, governor of the island, thinking him an unusually bright boy, sent him to England to school. He afterward entered the University of Cambridge, and became quite a proficient in mathematics. During his stay in Europe, he published a song which became quite popular, beginning, "Welcome, welcome, brother debtor." After his return to Jamaica, the Duke tried to obtain a place for him in the council of the government, but did not succeed. He then became a teacher of Latin and mathematics. He wrote a good deal of Latin verse, a species of composition of which he was very fond. This negro is described as having been pedantic and haughty; indulging a profound contempt for men of his own color. Where learning is a rare attainment among any people, or any class of people, this effect is very apt to be produced.
Phillis Wheatly, stolen from Africa when seven or eight years old, was sold to a wealthy merchant in Boston, in 1761. Being an intelligent and winning child, she gained upon the affections of her master's family, and they allowed her uncommon advantages. When she was nineteen years old, a little volume of her poems was published, and passed through several editions, both in England and the United States. Lest the authenticity of the poems should be doubted, her master, the governor, the lieutenant-governor, and fifteen other respectable persons, acquainted with her character and circumstances, testified that they were really her own productions. Jefferson denies that these poems have any merit; but I think he would have judged differently, had he been perfectly unprejudiced. It would indeed be absurd to put Phillis Wheatly in competition with Mrs. Hemans, Mary Hewitt, Mrs. Sigourney, Miss Gould, and other modern writers; but her productions certainly appear very respectable in comparison with most of the poetry of that day.