Hang a Thousand Trees with Ribbons

Phyllis is a slave who was sold in 1761. She was sold by a member of her own tribe who didn't care for her brother. She was sold for 72 cowrie shells. Although the slavery program was run by white men, many blacks in Africa became involved in selling other blacks, such as in this case.

Although Phyllis is 17 in the main part of the book, part of the book deals with her recalling what happened to her when she was sold and then shipped to the U.S. on a slave ship. Conditions were horrible, and her own mother was thrown overboard.

In the U.S. she was bought and fortunately ended up in a house where one of the family members ended up teaching her how to read and write and then taught her the classics and other subjects. Eventually she began writing poetry and established a reputation for herself.

Unfortunately, it seems that she was considered sort of a trained pet or something that was shown off to others. No one in the states would print her book of poetry, since it was done by a black person, so she ended up having the book printed in London.

The story part of the book is really good. The down part comes when you read the historical section and find that the rest of Phyllis' life was pretty much downhill after that. A good book to see how blacks were treated, and how freedom didn't always end up a happy condition for them.

Main Index

Yadult Index