Three inspirational people of the 18th and 19th centuries are remembered by the Church on 30 July. They are William Wilberforce, social reformer and anti-slavery campaigners Olaudah Equiano and Thomas Clarkson. But who were they?
William Wilberforce, Social Reformer, –
Born in Hull in , Wilberforce was educated at St John’s College, Cambridge. In he was elected to Parliament, first for Hull, later for Yorkshire. He was converted to a living faith in his mid twenties, largely through reading William Law’s Serious Call and Philip Doddridge’s Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul. Initially he considered taking Holy Orders, but was persuaded by John Newton that he could do more good for the Christian cause in Parliament than in the pulpit.
In a Society for the Abolition of the Slave Trade was founded by Granville Sharp, Thomas Clarkson and a group of Quakers. Needing a Parliamentary spokesman, they approached Wilberforce who immediately saw this as an appropriate sphere of Christian service, commenting that ‘God Almighty has set before me two great objects – the abolition of the slave trade and the reformation of manners.’
In he moved the first of a long series of
Spartacus Educational
Primary Sources
(1) Olaudah Equiano, letter to Gordon Turnbull after the publication of his book Apology for Negro Slavery, in the Public Advertiser published on 5th February,
To kidnap our fellow creatures, however they may differ in complexion, to degrade them into beasts of burthen, to deny them every right but those, and scarcely those we allow to a horse, to keep them in perpetual servitude, is a crime as unjustifiable as cruel; but to avow and to defend this infamous traffic required the ability and the modesty of you and Mr. Tobin. Can any man be a Christian who asserts that one part of the human race were ordained to be in perpetual bondage to another.
(2) Olaudah Equiano, The Life of Olaudah Equiano the African ()
I was born, in the year , in a charming fruitful vale, named Essaka. The distance of this province from the capital of Benin and the sea coast must be very considerable; for I had never heard of white men or Europeans, nor of the sea.
The dress of both sexes is nearly the same. It generally consists of a long piece of calico, or muslin, wrapped loosely round the body, somewhat in the form of a highland plaid. This is usually
The Interesting Narrative
Excerpted from Bury the Chains: Prophets and Rebels in the Fight to Free an Empire’s Slavesby Adam Hochschild. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Co.
This article supplements Episode 2 of the History of American Slavery, our inaugural Slate Academy. Please join Slate’s Jamelle Bouie and Rebecca Onion for a different kind of summer school. To learn more and to enroll, visit
In the spring of , in the same month that the Committee for the Abolition of the Slave Trade sent the pioneering British abolitionist Thomas Clarkson to campaign against the slave trade in France, a freed British slave, Olaudah Equiano, set off on a mission of his own. Calling on a clergyman named Jones at Trinity College, Cambridge, he handed him a letter:
Dear Sir,I take the Liberty of introducing to your Notice Gustavus Vasa, the Bearer, a very honest, ingenious, and industrious African, who wishes to visit Cambridge. He takes with him a few Histories containing his own life written by himself, of which he means to dispose to defray his Journey. Would you be so good as to recommend the Sale of a few and you will confer a favour on your already ob
The Unsung Heroes: Key Figures in the UK‘s Historic Abolition of Slavery
The abolition of slavery throughout the British Empire in the 19th century was a long, hard-fought victory against one of the greatest injustices in human history. Achieving this milestone required the persistent efforts of many dedicated abolitionists over several decades. While some figures like William Wilberforce are well-known, there were numerous other unsung heroes who played pivotal roles in the campaign to end slavery in the UK and its colonies. Here‘s a look at some of the key people involved and the important work they did.
The Early Trailblazers
The roots of abolitionism in Britain stretch back to the late s. One of the earliest prominent campaigners was Granville Sharp, who fought for the rights of individual slaves through the English courts. In the landmark Somerset v Stewart case, Sharp helped establish the legal principle that slaves could not be forcibly removed from England against their will. This planted the seeds for the idea that slavery was incompatible with English common law.
Another early voice for abolition was the Anglican cleric James Ramsay. Having witnessed fi
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