Phillis Wheatley was born in the West African nation of Senegal in about 1753. As a young child, she was enslaved and transported to Boston, Massachusetts, where she served the Wheatley family. Early on, the family recognized Phillis’s sharp intelligence and accordingly provided her with an extensive classical education. When she was around twenty years of age, in 1773, she published a collection of poetry, Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral, making her the first-ever African American poet to be published. The collection won widespread admiration from such figures as King George III of England and Benjamin Franklin. That year, too, she was granted her freedom.