Mary Prince, a Bermudian-born woman who became a figurehead for the movement to end enslavement across the Commonwealth, will be honoured through a new commemorative stamp series.

The set, revealed by the Bermuda Post Office this week, will feature imagery and renditions of the national hero.

Liner notes included with the stamps highlight the history of the abolitionist, who was born into enslavement in Devonshire to two enslaved parents.

“Her father, whose only given name was Prince, was a sawyer held in bondage by David Trimingham,” the notes said.

“Her mother was a house servant held in bondage by Charles Myners.

“When Myners died in 1788, Mary Prince and her mother were sold as household servants to Captain Darrell, who gifted Mary to his granddaughter, Betsey Williams.

“When she was 12, Mary Prince was sold for 38 pounds sterling to Captain John Ingham of Spanish Point. She was subjected to the many indignities of enslavement.”

She later escaped enslavement and wrote an autobiography, The History of Mary Prince, which described the brutalities of enslavement at a time when it was still legal in the British Colonies and Bermuda.

Her account played a significant role in the debate about enslavement and the subsequent 1833 passage of the Slavery Abolition Act.

The stamps are available for purchase from the Bermuda Post Office or any sub-post office.

They can also be ordered online through https://philatelic.bermudapost.bm/.