Francis Williams

Francis Williams (b. c. 1690, d. 1770) a Jamaican scholar, writer, poet, teacher, and land-owner in 18th century Jamaica. He was was one of the most notable free black people in Jamaica. 

Born in Kingston, Jamaica into a slaveholding family.

His parents: John and Dorothy Williams, both of whom were free people of color. John had been emancipated in 1699 through the will and testament of his former enslaver.

John Williams accumulated significant wealth through savvy business deals, leaving an estate worth £12,000 sterling upon his death in 1723.

Around 1710, Williams journeyed to Britain for an education. Accounts vary, but he certainly studied law at Lincoln’s Inn, London

Back in Jamaica, Williams became a local celebrity, attracting fans and critics alike. He apparently sought a seat in the House of Assembly, but was rejected because of his ethnicity.

He ran a school for free black students, teaching reading, writing, Latin, and mathematics.

Williams challenged everything they claimed about the inferiority and incapacity of black people, and their place in creation as mere drudges. Edward Long, the prominent pro-slavery planter who denied the humanity of black Africans, devoted a great deal of space in his History of Jamaica (1774) to Williams, including one of his poems.

While Williams never opposed the fundamentals of slave society, he openly challenged white dominance and advocated for the rights of free black people.



https://enslaved.org/fullStory/16-23-101312/

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