History of william wilberforce

In , Wilberforce became member of parliament for Hull, later representing Yorkshire. His dissolute lifestyle changed completely when he became an evangelical Christian, and in joined a leading group known as the Clapham Sect. His Christian faith prompted him to become interested in social reform, particularly the improvement of factory conditions in Britain.

The abolitionist Thomas Clarkson had an enormous influence on Wilberforce. He and others were campaigning for an end to the trade in which British ships were carrying black slaves from Africa, in terrible conditions, to the West Indies as goods to be bought and sold. Wilberforce was persuaded to lobby for the abolition of the slave trade and for 18 years he regularly introduced anti-slavery motions in parliament.

More than 20, captives seized control of much of the northwest corner of the island, setting planters' houses on fire. Many of these were on ridges or hilltops, and as they burst into flames, they acted like beacons to spread the revolt. It took the British army and militia a month to get the country under control. Some enslaved Africans and 14 white people died in the fighting.

At least more slave rebels were hanged or shot afterwards. In Britain, news of the revolt almost certainly hastened the coming of emancipation. Both private correspondence and testimony before parliament showed that colonial officials and high-ranking military men expected more revolts - and feared that the British military might not be able to contain them.

Wilberforce resigned from parliament in due to ill health. He followed the final stages of the battle for emancipation from a distance. He died in the summer of , just before the emancipation measure became law. It was the last chapter of a long struggle - 45 years after he had first spoken against the slave trade. Until recently, few Britons have wanted to recognise either the crucial role of the Caribbean slave revolts or of black or women abolitionists.

During their lifetimes, Wilberforce and Clarkson shared public attention and both were much honored for their role in ending slavery. After Wilberforce's death, two of his sons produced a five-volume biography that greatly downgraded Clarkson's role in the movement and did not credit the role the slave revolts played. Since then, writing some two dozen later biographies, Evangelical admirers have often portrayed Wilberforce as being almost single-handedly responsible for ending British slavery.

Clarkson, whose political radicalism made him unpopular with Evangelicals, has had no comparable lobby of supporters. And until recently, few Britons have wanted to recognise either the crucial role of the Caribbean slave revolts, or of black or women abolitionists such as Olaudah Equiano or Elizabeth Heyrick. William Wilberforce deserves an important place in the story of emancipation, but he shares it with many others, both black and white, men and women, in Britain and the Caribbean.

Adam Hochschild is the author of six books, most of them dealing with human rights. Search term:. Read more. This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets CSS enabled. He spoke passionately on the subject. We are all guilty—we ought all to plead guilty, and not to exculpate ourselves by throwing the blame on others..

Although there was considerable support within Parliament, the anti-abolitionists were well organised, and they managed to out-vote the bill by votes to After spending a year raising awareness of the issue, Wilberforce tried the next year again. However, the anti-abolitionists were again well organised and were able to slip in a delaying tactic — putting off abolition indefinitely.

Following the outbreak of war with France in , the mood swung against the cause for abolishing the slave trade. Any calls for its abolition were often accused of being seditious. The country became very conservative due to the threat of invasion; in the climate of fear, there was little interest in the emancipation of slaves. However, in the early part of the nineteenth century, the climate once again became favourable, and following the death of William Pitt, in , Wilberforce tried once more.

However, they first tried a clever trick of making it illegal for slave owners to participate in the trading slaves with the French colonies. It was a bill not designed to make the slave trade illegal; it was hoped to just undermine their business, therefore weakening the position of the ship owners. It was suggested by a maritime lawyer, James Stephen.

In , both the Lords and the Commons finally passed the Slave Trade Act; Wilberforce was able to command an unexpectedly large margin of votes to This act only made illegal the trade of slaves. A plan showing how many slaves would fit on a ship. Wilberforce argued that it was not right to own people. The Slavery Abolition Bill.

History of william wilberforce

After many years of defeats, he finally achieved his goal on 25 March But this did not completely prevent British people from participating in the slave trade. The culmination of a life's work. The Bill granted freedom to all slaves within the British Empire. Wilberforce died three days later.