Thanks, Wikipedia.
William Wilberforce (August 24, 1759 – July 29, 1833) was a British politician, philanthropist and a leader of the movement to abolish the slave trade.
A native of Hull, Yorkshire, he began his political career in 1780 and became the independent Member of Parliament for Yorkshire (1784–1812) and a close friend of Prime Minister William Pitt II [they are buried side-by-side in Westminster Abbey].
In 1785 he underwent a conversion experience and became an evangelical Christian, resulting in changes in his lifestyle and in his interest in reform.
In 1787 he came into contact with Thomas Clarkson and a group of anti-slave trade activists, including Granville Sharp, Hannah More and Lord Charles Middleton.
They persuaded Wilberforce to take on the cause of abolition; and he soon became one of the leading English abolitionists, heading the parliamentary campaign against the British slave trade until the eventual passage of the Slave Trade Act in 1807.
Wilberforce was convinced of the importance of religion, morality and education. He also championed other causes and campaigns, including the Society For Suppression Of Vice [an ultraconservative group which opposed dancing, drinking and talk of sex], the introduction of Christianity to India [he had bigoted views about other religions], the creation of a free colony in Sierra Leone, the foundation of the Church Mission Society and the Society For The Prevention Of Cruelty To Animals (SPCA).
His underlying conservatism led him to support politically and socially repressive legislation [including detention without trial against socialists, opposition to women’s rights movements and the suppression of trade union movements] and resulted in criticism that he was ignoring injustices at home while campaigning for the enslaved abroad.
Former slaves Ottobah Cugoano and Olaudah Equiano, from Ghana and Nigeria respectively, played a key role initiating the campaign to end slavery. They both published books on slavery and the slave trade in 1787 and 1789 respectively.
They and other free Blacks, collectively known as Sons Of Africa, spoke at debating societies and wrote spirited letters to newspapers, periodicals and prominent figures.
Former slave trader Reverend John Newton, who composed and wrote the Christian hymn Amazing Grace after an experience akin to St Paul’s, was also a strong supporter of the anti-slavery movement and a lifelong friend of Wilberforce.
The life of Wilberforce was recently made into a Hollywood film Amazing Grace starring Ioan Gruffudd (of Fantastic Four) as Wilberforce.
Wilberforce’s great-great grandson was Lord Richard Wilberforce (1907-2003), a respected British High Court and Court of Appeal judge.
