William Wilberforce

“When I consider the magnitude of the subject which I am to bring before the house...It is impossible for me not to feel both terrified and concerned at my own inadequacy to such a task.” So begins the speech of one of the greatest human rights activists of all time, William Wilberforce. The subject: The Abolition of the Slave Trade. The date: Tuesday, May 12, 1789. So also begins a long and arduous journey which would finally end the slave trade 18 years later. Governmental opposition and health problems never stopped him.

Born into a wealthy British family in 1759, the only son of Robert and Elizabeth Wilberforce, he had poor health right from childhood. When he was nine his father died. While his mother coped with the loss, he stayed with his aunt and uncle. From the influence of these relatives he became interested in Christianity. Wilberforce went back to live with his mother when he was twelve years old. Quite attached to his relatives, he grieved to leave them. His aunt begged his mother to leave him there, but she refused.

Although he spent a number of years embracing a hedonistic lifestyle, he soon realized the futility of this. Early in his life he had been greatly influenced by his aunt and uncle. Later, John Newton a former slave ship owner and writer of “Amazing Grace,” helped him along in his faith walk. Other friends with sincere faith also caused him to consider Christianity seriously. In 1790, around the age of 31, Wilberforce became a Christian. Because he believed that human beings were “created in the image of God,” he fought to “rehumanize African slaves.”

After his conversion Wilberforce faced a tough decision. He wondered whether he should devote his life to serving Christ, or abolishing the slave trade. The influence of some of the slave trade abolitionists, including John Newton, convinced him that abolishing this atrocity would serve Christ. After all, how could Britain allow the shameful conditions which plagued the slaves as they traveled from Africa? The first time the bill for the abolition of the slave trade came by the House of Lords, in 1786, it was defeated. Despite frustration and hostility, Wilberforce’s commitment to this “blessed cause” never wavered. Year after year he presented his bill and year after year it was defeated. Finally, Wilberforce’s dream became a reality; On March 25, 1807 with tears streaming down his face, the slave trade was finally abolished by an amazing 283 votes to sixteen.

Wilberforce’s stunning achievement remains a particularly fine example of perseverance in the face of adversity. Abolishing the slave trade in Britain paved the way for abolishing slavery throughout the western world. Circumstances from the beginning of his life when he went to live with his relatives to when he became a Christian contributed to give him a hunger to abolish slavery. All throughout his life he never gave up. Of those individuals I admire, William Wilberforce is preeminent.