William Wilberforce

Men, women and children, crowded in cramped quarters and denied basic rights such as water, breathable air, and food. The smell is horrendous and the surroundings intolerable. These were the conditions onboard a slave ship and the life of a slave during the passage from their home to a slave port. In 1787, William Wilberforce took on the seemingly hopeless pursuit of abolishing this trade. A great man is said to arise a leader when need occurs. William Wilberforce was a great man who did just that and who achieved the near impossible through his undying resolution to campaign and pass anti slave bills, passing the Slave Trade Bill in 1806, and fighting for the total emancipation the slaves in the British Empire.

The issue of the slave trade had very few public supporters, many supporters stayed quiet in order to avoid public hassle. The original abolitionists had campaigned across Britain; however, they had little support and no political power. In 1784 a Member of Parliament, by the name of William Wilberforce, became an evangelical Christian. His decision to do so led him to become extremely interested in the abolition of slavery. After being approached by the abolitionists, Wilberforce decided to accept the position of parliamentary leader of the abolition movement. William Wilberforce’s decision, in 1787, to pursue the abolishment of the slave trade would prove to be a long, hard 46 years that would eventually claim his life. In 1788, a bill was put forward by Wilberforce to regulate the conditions aboard the slave ships. This bill was initially rejected but was eventually passed in the House of Lords with a vote of 56 to 5. This early success was crucial and because of it, Wilberforce believed the abolition of slavery wo...

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...nd France itself. It also removed the protection of the neutral American flag. French ships flying the American flag would be liable to search and seizure. On the surface the bill was anti-French, however; British slave ships also flew the American Flag, stripping British of their protection as well. Wilberforce did not introduce the bill, although he was the driving force behind it, in order to prevent suspicion of the bill’s true effect. He, and other abolitionists, held a self-imposed silence until the bill was passed. This tactic proved successful and on May 23, 1806 the bill received Royal Assent, marking the beginning of the end of the slave trade. The death of the slave trade in the British Empire allowed many MPs to move over to the anti slave position. They no longer had the excuse of the wealth of the trade to give evidence of their political stance.