3. The slave trade in the early 19th Century presented a
monumental ethical challenge and an apparently insurmountable
obstacle to missionary outreaches in Africa.
4. The abolition of the slave trade helped prepare the way for the
19th Century to become the greatest century for missionary
advance.
5. As we battle against great social evils such as abortion,
pornography and persecution and work for Reformation, the
overwhelming opposition and pressure can drive one to
exhaustion and a temptation to give up the fight.
6. William Wilberforce –
the Reformer who led
the campaign to abolish
the slave trade and to
set those in bondage
free
7. – was persistently slandered in the media, threatened, physically
assaulted and even the target of attempted murder.
8. Yet he persevered and, after a lifetime crusade, his steadfastness
was rewarded with the liberation of all slaves in the British Empire.
9. At this critical stage in history,
Christians need to learn from one of the greatest Christian
statesmen and how, in the face of constant derision and
opposition, he succeeded in abolishing the slave trade.
10. All nations and tribes engaged in slavery,
particularly the Muslim nations.
The Scourge of Slavery
11. However, it was the Emperor
Charles V of the Holy Roman
Empire (before whom Martin
Luther made his historic “My
conscience is captive to the
Word of God …Here I stand,
I can do no other .” speech)
who first authorised Europe’s
involvement in the slave trade
in 1519.
13. bull of 1493, which barred Spain from Africa,
Spain issued Asientos (a monopoly) to other nations to supply
slaves for her South American colonies.
14. First Portugal had this lucrative franchise, then the Dutch, then the
French.
15. Finally, by the
Treaty of Utrecht 1713,
the Asientos
was transferred
from France to Britain.
Initially the contract was
for 4 800 slaves a year.
During the next century
Britain transported
up to 2 million slaves
to the New World.
18. The Trade, as it became known, involved a triangular voyage.
Slave ships sailed from Bristol or Liverpool loaded with cloths,
beads, muskets, iron bars and brandy. This merchandise was
then traded in West Africa in exchange for slaves.
19. Many African chiefs sold their own people,
others engaged in wars and slave raids
22. The Middle Passage transported the slaves to the West Indies.
Here the slaves were sold and the ships loaded with spices, rum,
molasses and sugar. The third leg of the journey was the return
to England (160 British ships were ultimately involved in slaving).
26. The average Englishman on
the street was kept in the dark
as to what actually happened
on the middle passage, until –
in 1785 – Thomas Clarkson’s
landmark study
“Slavery and Commerce in
the Human Species”
was first published
– in Latin – at Cambridge and
then translated into English
and widely circulated.
27. In 1787 Wilberforce wore out
the pages of his copy of
Clarkson’s book on Slavery.
28. According to Clarkson’s
research,
ten percent of the slaves
would normally die
during the middle
passage.
Strong men would fetch
as much as £40 while
the women and children
were sold in cheap
batches with the sick
and weak men.
29. The fit were often branded
– with silver branding irons to minimise infection.
Slave branding iron from Babilonia
30. Slaving was one of the largest, and certainly the most profitable,
sectors of the British economy. In England 18 000 people were
employed simply on making the goods to trade for slaves.
This trade constituted 4.4% of British exports.
31. On Sunday 28 October 1787, Wilberforce wrote in his diary:
“God Almighty has set before me two great objects,
the suppression of the Slave Trade
and the Reformation of Society.”
32. William Wilberforce was born,
in 1759, into a wealthy family
and educated at Cambridge
University. He was elected to
Parliament, in 1780, at the age
of 21 and served in the House
of Commons for the next forty-
five years! William was short,
frail, frequently sick and
afflicted with poor eye sight.
The Crisis of Conversion
33. However, he more than made up for his weak body with his
vigorous mind and boundless energy. He was a particularly gifted
speaker and generous to friends and strangers alike. As a child
he had been strongly influenced by the dedicated faith of his uncle
and aunt.
34. William’s father died when he was 9, so he was sent to live with
William and Hanna Wilberforce who were childless. William’s
uncle and aunt were friends of George Whitefield and William
later described how deeply he had been impressed by Whitefield’s
preaching and visits to his uncle’s home.
35. He also met John
Newton, the former
slave ship captain who
had been converted and
later wrote “Amazing
Grace.”
36. When William’s mother realised that her son was
becoming “too religious” she came and took him back,
placed him in a boarding school, and encouraged a
more worldly lifestyle.
37. As a Member of Parliament, Wilberforce opposed the
British war against the American Colonies declaring that
the Cabinet Ministers were acting more like lunatics than
statesmen and denounced their “cruel, bloody and
impractical” policies. Wilberforce made his name with his
quick wit and devastating sarcasm.
38. In 1783, he travelled to France, and met King Louis XVI
& Marie Antoinette,
40. His good friend
William Pitt
was then elected
Prime Minister
– at age 24 the
youngest Prime Minister
in British history.
William Pitt
41. Wilberforce then stood for Yorkshire, the largest county in
England, and won by a landslide.
42. It was at this point, when he had won an unassailable position in
both politics and society, that Wilberforce was confronted with the
claims of the Gospel of Christ through a book “The Rise and
Progress of Religion in the Soul” by Philip Doddridge.
43. His mind was convinced of the truth of the Gospel, but he
recognised that intellectual assent was not enough.
44. A sharp conflict raged within him. “I am no Christian”
he was forced to admit. He was overcome with anguish:
“the deep guilt and dark ingratitude of my past life forced itself on
me in the strongest colours, and I condemned myself for having
wasted precious time and opportunities and talents.”
He was appalled by his “shapeless idleness” and
“a sense of my great sinfulness in having so long neglected
the unspeakable mercies of my God and Saviour.”
45. Through all his heart
searching, Bible study
and prayer,
he was transformed.
Since nearly all politicians
drank, gambled and engaged
in corrupt practices, William
assumed that he would now
have to give up his political
career. In turmoil he went to
see his boyhood hero,
Rev. John Newton. Should
he give up politics and
become a preacher?
Or should he seclude himself
from society to live a life of
quiet meditation and prayer?
46. In response Newton admonished him that to leave his post in
Parliament would be desertion from the duty to which God had
called him:
“It is hoped and believed that the Lord has raised you up for
the good of His Church and for the good of the nation.”
47. If he stayed in politics he would find opportunities to advance
God’s Kingdom that other men could only dream of.
48. Wilberforce informed the Prime Minister that he could no longer
vote the party line if it conflicted with Christian principles. The
change in his behaviour and politics was dramatic. He resigned
from 5 clubs in one day.
49. He stopped going to plays and theatres (which had become
particularly decadent at that time) and gave up gambling. With a
new intellectual rigour, he set himself to redeem his idle years. He
became less temperamental, more stable and more cheerful.
50. He saw clearly that if a man became a Christian it
should influence everything he thinks and does.
He began to search the Scriptures for the principles
upon which his policies should be based.
As he explained to one constituent:
we are “to give an account of (our) political conduct
at the Judgement seat of Christ.”
51. At his conversion there were only 2 other Evangelical Members of
Parliament. By the time of his death there were
over 100 Evangelical members in the House of Commons
and the House of Lords!
52. A Call for Reformation
One of Wilberforce’s first actions as a
Christian was to persuade the King,
George III, to issue a Proclamation
calling for spiritual Reformation
throughout the land.
On 1 June 1787, the King gazetted a
“Proclamation for the
Encouragement of Piety and Virtue
and for the Preventing of Vice,
Profaneness and Immorality.”
King George III
53. It declared: “Whereas we cannot but observe with
inexpressible concern, the rapid progress of impiety and
licentiousness and that deluge of profaneness,
immorality and every kind of vice . . . do hereby declare
our Royal Purpose and resolution to discountenance and
punish all manner of vice, profaneness and immorality .
..”
54. Church attendance
was urged.
Sheriffs and justices
were to be “very
vigilant and strict”
in prosecuting those
“guilty of excessive
drinking, blasphemy,
profane swearing
and cursing,
lewdness,
or other immoral and
dissolute practices.”
55. They were also ordered to close down
brothels and destroy
“all loose and licentious prints, books
and publications dispersing poison in
the minds of the young and to punish
the publishers and vendors thereof.”
56. The Secretary of State was
instructed to send 6 copies
of the Proclamation to the
High Sheriff of every county
with the King’s Command
that it be publicly read and
acted upon.
At the time few realised that
the Member for Yorkshire
was the author of the
Proclamation.
57. Wilberforce then
established a
Proclamation
Society to
ensure that the
Proclamation
became a force
rather than a
farce. Local
chapters
of this society worked to bring about Reformation at every level of
society. The time was ripe. Many thousands whose lives had been
transformed by the preaching of Whitefield and Wesley got
involved in this campaign to clean up and reshape the nation.
58. Magistrates throughout the
nation eagerly responded to
the Proclamation.
The seriousness of the crime
wave provoked a
groundswell of popular
support for Wilberforce’s
campaign.
59. As Wilberforce wrote:
“Surely the principles as well as the practice of
Christianity are simple and lead . . . to action.”
60. Wilberforce also wrote a book
which had an enormous impact
on the upper classes of Britain:
“A Practical View of the
Prevailing Religious System
of Professed Christians in the
Higher and Middle Classes of
this Country contrasted with
Real Christianity.”
In 6 months it went through 5
editions
and sold 7 500 copies.
61. By 1826, 15 editions had
been printed in England
and 25 editions in America.
It was also translated into
French, Italian, Spanish,
Dutch and German.
62. David Livingstone – the Missionary who pioneered Christianity
hroughout the hinterland of Africa and successfully campaigned to
eradicate the Islamic slave trade
63. – testified that
Real Christianity
was one of the most
important and formative
books he ever read.
64. In Parliament,
Wilberforce generally
voted against the
expenditure of money.
Although it was the
government which
needed to free the
slaves – because it
was the government
that protected the slave
traders,
Personal Generosity not State Taxes
65. Wilberforce knew that
the government could
not do everything.
In fact it should not
exceed it’s jurisdiction.
The Bible clearly
limits the state’s
authority to the
ministries of
defence, law and
order and justice
(Romans 13:1-4;
1 Peter 2:13,14).
66. For this reason
Wilberforce did not
support the expansion
of government powers
nor increased taxation.
The state is the
Minister of Justice.
The Church is the
Minister of Grace.
So William did much to
help the poor and
needy – personally and
through voluntary
societies.
In some years he gave
more to charity than his
entire income!
Not surprisingly he
ended his life bankrupt.
67. In 1802 The Proclamation Society was replaced by
The Society for the Suppression of Vice.
Amongst the many inspired to Reformation principles by this
society were Lord Shaftesbury (who began his campaign to
outlaw child labour in the factories the year Wilberforce died) and
Princess Victoria (who was destined to be Britain’s longest
reigning Queen to that date).
68. In 1803 Wilberforce also helped form The British and
Foreign Bible Society – which was the first
interdenominational society uniting Anglicans and
Dissenters (Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians and
others). He also supported Hannah More’s pioneering of
the first Sunday Schools, helped launch the Church
Missionary Society (in 1798) and started The Society
for Bettering the Condition of the Poor (1796).
70. As one person described Wilberforce: “Factories did not spring up
more rapidly in Leeds and Manchester than schemes of
Benevolence beneath his roof.” Wilberforce’s home became a
kind of national center for benevolence and moral reform.
71. At one time he was president, vice-president or a member of the
committee for 69 societies! And he managed this while being
married with four sons and two daughters. Also remarkable is the
fact that, unlike most men of Wilberforce’s day and class, he spent
quality time playing and praying with his children.
72. As he declared: “the spiritual interests of my children is my first
priority.” All attended family prayers, which were held while
kneeling, twice a day. These times of devotions were described as
“short and cheerful.” Wilberforce urged his fellow MP’s to curtail
their activities on Sunday, if not to honour the Lord’s Day, at least
for the sake of their servants…
73. William himself set the example, he attended both services every
Sunday and would only travel or discuss politics on the Lord’s Day
in the gravest emergency.
74. Professor Henry Perkins in his Origins of Modern English Society
(1969) states that “between 1780 and 1850 the English ceased to
be one of the most aggressive, brutal, rowdy, outspoken, riotous,
cruel and bloodthirsty nations in the world and became one of the
most inhibited, polite, orderly, tender-minded, prudish and
hypocritical!”
75. However, it was the campaign to abolish slavery that dominated
most of Wilberforce’s life and demanded most of his time and
energy.
The Crusade Against Slavery
76.
77. Captain Sir Charles Middleton, while in the Navy, had boarded a
French slave ship in the West Indies and was horrified by it.
He wrote to Wilberforce requesting him to raise the matter in
Parliament. Wilberforce replied that he felt unequal to the task,
but “could not possibly decline.”
78. In discussing it with his friend
Pitt, the Prime Minister
declared:
“Wilberforce, England
needs a crusader to wake
her up…
79. This slave trade is horrible business . . .
it will be a long, hard fight, but someone
must take the lead.
80. William you are that man!”
John Newton also encouraged him to launch the crusade against
slavery.
81. The example of Christ
inspired him:
“The Spirit of the
Sovereign Lord . . . has
anointed me to preach
good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind
up the broken hearted,
to proclaim freedom for
the captives and
release for the
prisoners.”
Isaiah 61:1
82. Realising that he was going to war
against an extremely profitable
business with deeply entrenched
financial interests and political
support, Wilberforce prepared
his campaign carefully.
He
gathered around himself a group
of researchers and assistants
dedicated to eradicating slavery.
Granville Sharp
(who in 1772 had
initiated a law suit…
83. which successfully established the principle,
based on the Common Law, that as soon as any slave
set foot in Britain he became free);
84. Thomas Clarkson (the author of
“Slavery and Commerce in Human
Species”); Zachary Macaulay (who
himself had once
been a slave plantation
manager
before his conversion)
and
others were tireless and
innovative
in strengthening the
campaign.
A debilitating illness delayed
William, but finally on 12 May 1789
he introduced a Bill for the abolition
of the slave trade:
85. “I mean not to accuse anyone, but to take the shame upon myself,
in common indeed with the whole Parliament of Britain, for having
suffered this horrid trade to be carried on under their authority.
We are all guilty – we ought all to plead guilty and not to
exculpate ourselves by throwing the blame on others . . .”
86. He spoke for 3½ hours, moving 12 resolutions against
the Trade. Reports described it as one of the most
gripping and moving speeches ever delivered in
Parliament.
87. Pitt declared that Wilberforce had “the greatest natural
eloquence of all the men I ever knew.”
Most of the House was convinced of the righteousness
of Wilberforce’s arguments, but they were fearful that
abolition would result in an economic disaster.
88. So the House accepted a
delaying tactic proposed by the
planters that the slavers be
granted leave to produce evidence
in reply. The matter was deferred
until the next session. Tragically,
the French Revolution erupted
before the next session!
89. And the tide of public
opinion hardened against
abolition – in reaction to the
anarchy and mass murder
across the channel.
When the evidence on
behalf of the Trade was
concluded in April 1790,
the slavers tried to get a
snap decision before the
evidence against slavery
could be heard. Wilberforce
needed to promptly
mobilise his forces to win
the right to continue. A
General Election in June
1790 interrupted the
process.
90. The deteriorating situation in France and a bloody revolt by slaves
in St. Dominique were exploited by the planters who attributed
these revolutions to Wilberforce’s abolitionist campaign!
On 18 April 1791 the House debated Wilberforce’s bill
until 3:30 in the morning.
The vote ended in defeat for the abolitionists by 163 to 88.
91. In the light of this reversal, Wilberforce began a regular strategy
meeting for his co-workers and allies in a library in Clapham.
The Clapham community recognised that this campaign could well
require a lifetime to win.
92. These meetings were often bathed in prayer and out of these
strategy sessions came the idea of outflanking the corrupt
puppets of the West Indian interests in Parliament – by creating a
groundswell of popular support for the abolition of slavery
93. Many thousands (ultimately millions) of pamphlets were printed
and distributed. Clarkson produced a shocking drawing of
how slaves were packed like sardines into slave ships for the
middle passage.
94.
95.
96. This print was mass produced and widely circulated. Public
meetings and rallies were organised country wide. A boycott of
slave grown sugar was supported by over 300 000 people.
97. 517 petitions for Abolition were delivered to Parliament
and only 4 petitions against.
98. In 1792, with slave revolts in Haiti and threatened revolts
in British Jamaica (where slaves outnumbered colonists 16 to 1),
and war with France looming, public reticence and panic
swayed the debate.
Against All Odds
99. The best Wilberforce could achieve was a resolution to
“gradually” abolish the slave trade by 1796.
This was passed by 230 to 85 in the House of
Commons. But the Bill became bogged down and sank
beneath the surface in the House of Lords.
100. The fact that King George III went insane at about this time and
that Britain had just lost their American colonies
did not help matters either.
Wilberforce pledged to introduce a new bill to
abolish the slave trade every year until it succeeded – and he did.
101. The last letter ever written by
John Wesley was a fairly
pessimistic message to
Wilberforce: “I see not how
you can go through with your
glorious enterprise in
opposing that execrable
villainy which is the scandal
of religion, of England and of
human nature. Unless God
has raised you up for this
very thing, you will be worn
out by the opposition of men
and devils.”
102. Indeed, Wilberforce was
becoming one of the
most hated men in
England.
On different occasions
his life was physically
threatened by West
Indian sea captains.
National hero, Admiral
Lord Nelson wrote from
his flagship Victory to
condemn “the damnable
doctrine of Wilberforce
and his hypocritical
allies!”
104. Lord Heathfield, the
defender of Gibraltar,
commented that a slave
on the way to the Indies
had twice as much cubic
air space as a British
soldier in a regulation
tent!
Admiral Lord St. Vincent
declared that
“the whole of society
would go to pieces” if
Wilberforce’s Abolition Bill
went through!
Lord Heathfield
105. The Duke of Clarence asserted in the House of Lords
that “the promoters of the Abolition were either frauds
or hypocrites!”
106. Every disturbance or revolt in the
West Indies was blamed on
Wilberforce.
Lady Malmesbury in 1791
insisted on Wilberforce being
tried for murder and executed
because of some murders
committed by slaves!
Langford Hodge accused
Wilberforce of having
“created a volcano!”
Wilberforce was the target of
scurrilous smear campaigns.
While he was still a bachelor he
was accused of being a wife
beater – and his wife
was a Black!
107. Others accused him of being a republican and a revolutionary.
“All abolitionists are Jacobins” (French Revolutionaries)
declared Lord Abingdon.
108. King George III declared
that Wilberforce and his
allies were “hypocrites
and not to be trusted!”
Other printed attacks on
Wilberforce included:
“totally ignorant of the
subject of slavery!”;
“the most consummate
hypocrite” and of
favouring “fat lazy Negro
slaves” who were
“laughing from morning
till night” over his own
countrymen! Whindham
called him: “a wicked
little fanatical imp!”
109. How did Wilberforce manage to
persevere in the face of such sustained
hatred and character assassination? He
established and sustained a life-time of
daily discipline. He knew the value of
the first few hours of the day for Bible
study, prayer and mental preparation
for the day. He sought to discipline his
tongue, tastes and thoughts.
He surrendered his reputation to God
early on and commented after a
slanderous article published in the
Courier that such attacks were like the
barking of dogs as one passes through
a village. He preferred criticisms to
flattery and praised God that He had
freed him from the fear of men’s
opinions.
110. He did all that he could and then he
left the result in God’s hands. His
faith was resilient because it was
not in himself, but in God alone.
Wilberforce believed that God was
Sovereign and He guided and
overruled in our lives down to the
smallest details. That God could put
His thoughts into our minds. William
once asked a pastor if he believed
in God’s specific guidance.
“Yes”, the Clergyman replied,
“on great occassions.” “As
unphilosophical as unScriptural”,
responded Wilberforce.
111. “Must not the
smallest links be
as necessary for
maintaining the
continuity as the
greatest? . . .
there is no great
or little to God.”
He was adamant
that God
intervened and
was Sovereign in
both national and
personal matters.
112. Wilberforce was so crystal clear about his principles and so free of
worry about himself, that he was free to think of others.
Another reason for Wilberforce’s astonishing resilience and
persistence in his campaigns is that he never worked alone.
He was supported by a community of dedicated and hard working
activists.
113. In order to accomodate freed slaves, the Clapham Community of
William Wilberforce founded a settlement in Sierra Leone in 1787.
They poured vast investments into this venture, through their
Sierra Leone Company, as a form of restitution
for England’s role in the slave trade.
Initially the venture was plagued with disasters and a series of
revolts, as well as a devastating raid by a French Naval squadron
in 1794.
Experiment in Africa
114. But by the time
Zachary Macaulay
(the first governor)
finally returned to
England, in 1799, the
capital, Freetown, was
a thriving community
of 1 200 people with
300 houses and 3
wharves to facilitate
foreign trade.
Sierra Leone was an important project for the
Abolitionists because it demonstrated that relations
between England and West Africa could be healthy and
involve legitimate commerce.
A postcard of
Freetown
115. It also showed that freed
slaves could hold down
responsible positions
and that Africa had more
products for trade than
human flesh!
The day that the slave
trade was abolished, in
1807, the company
handed Sierra Leone
over to the Crown.
116. While fighting against slavery
abroad, Wilberforce was also
intensely involved in Reform at
home. As early as 1786 he
began introducing bills to reform
the criminal law. He opposed
flogging (whipping) in the army,
sought to improve prison
conditions, investigated working
conditions and dangers in the
coal mines and was the first to
campaign against the abuses of
child labour in the cotton mills.
Fighting for Justice
117. He also pioneered
popular education
and campaigned
against
the game laws.
However,
it was Britain’s
global
responsibilities
that preoccupied
most of
Wilberforces
energies.
118. He organised
intervention on
behalf of the
victims of the
Napoleonic Wars,
the Greeks
who were then
fighting for their
freedom from the
Ottoman Empire,
the North
American Indians,
the Haitians and
the Hottentots!
119. One of his most important campaigns was to work for a
new sense of Christian responsibility in Britain’s policies
for India. The prevailing view was that Britain’s relations
with India were purely commercial.
The British East India Company handbook, of 1810,
devoted 48 pages to the subject of mistresses, their
upkeep, cosmetics and ornaments! The company felt no
responsibility for education or ethics.
Love for our Neighbours
120. By an act of British
Parliament, missionaries
were forbidden to operate in
India. The British missionary
pioneer, William Carey, had
been forced to seek
sanctuary in the Danish
enclave at Serampore in
order to carry out his (illegal)
missionary work in British
controlled India.
121. From 1793 Wilberforce began proposing resolutions to
Parliament to authorise chaplains, missionaries and
school teachers to serve in India.
122. He brought to the Parliament’s attention Carey’s research
exposing the prevalent Hindu practices of widow burning,
infanticide, human sacrifices and the horrors of the caste system.
123. Yet the British government refused to intervene because these
practices had religious sanction and they did not want to upset
their commercial dealings with Hindu India.
124. Wilberforce declared that the exclusion of Christ’s ambassadors
from British India was “next to the slave trade, the foulest
blot on the moral character of our country.” Describing the
terrible poverty, degradation, disdain for relieving human suffering
and human rights abuses in India he exclaimed:
125. “The remedy, sir, is Christianity . . . Christianity
assumes her true character . . . when she takes under
her protection those poor degraded beings on whom
philosophy looks down with disdain or perhaps with
contemptuous condescension . . . Christianity delights to
instruct the ignorant, to succour the needy, to comfort
the sorrowful, to visit the forsaken.”
126. When challenged
that he was
“forcing his views”
on the Indians,
he responded:
“Compulsion and
Christianity!
Why the very
terms are at
variance –
the ideas are
incompatible.
Christianity is
the Law of
Liberty!”
127. He was not asking Parliament to organise evangelism,
but merely to permit it.
Since the East India Company had been given a
monopoly by Parliament, it was up to Parliament to
ensure that they practised religious freedom in India.
128. In 1806, William wrote:
“ next to the slave trade,
I have long thought our
making no effort to
introduce the blessings of
religion and moral
improvement among our
subjects in the East, the
greatest of our national
crimes . . . we have too
many . . . who seem to
think our dominions safer
under Brahma and
Vishnu, than under that of
the Almighty.”
129. Wilberforce fought for
a new Charter that
would permit the activity
of all missionaries,
whether ordained
or lay preacher,
of the established
Church of England
or Dissenters.
131. Ultimately Wilberforce succeeded.
In 1813, Parliament passed a new Charter for the East
India Company guaranteeing liberty
for the propagation of the Christian Faith.
This was a watershed in British relations with India,
marking “the change from looting to paternalism.”
132. As a result of the Evangelical influence in British society
and Parliament, Britain thereafter approached the native
races of Africa and Asia with completely different goals
from any other country:
“for administrative justice, kindness and moderation, not
merely of increasing the security of the subjects and the
prosperity of the country, but of advancing social
happiness, of ameliorating the moral state of men and of
extending a superior light.”
133. And so in 1828, Lord Bentinck, as Governor General of India,
outlawed thuggee (assassination for religious purposes), suttee
(the burning alive of widows on their husbands’s funeral pyres)
and female infanticide.
134. In 1807, 20 years after he first began his crusade, and in the
middle of Britain’s war with France, Wilberforce and his team’s
labours were rewarded with victory. Finally at 4 o’clock in the
morning on 4 February the Abolition Bill was passed in the House
of Lords. On 22 February 1807 it passed the second reading in
the House of Commons.
Faithful Perseverance Rewarded
135. A new generation of statesmen, inspired by Wilberforce’s
tenacious example, rose up to speak in favour of the Bill.
136. The motion to abolish the slave trade was carried by an
overwhelming 283 votes to 16 against!
The Parliamentarians leapt to their feet with great cheers and
gave Wilberforce the greatest ovation ever seen in British history.
137. William bent forward in his seat, his head in his hands, tears of
gratitude streaming down his face that this long crusade of 20
years had been crowned with success by Almighty God.
138. The first clause declared that: “all manner of dealing and
trading in the purchase of slaves or their transport from
Africa to the West Indies or any other territory is utterly
abolished, prohibited and declared to be unlawful.”
139. The second clause declared that any British ship employed in the
Trade shall be confiscated and “forfeit to the Crown.”
For the next 26 years, Wilberforce worked
for the total emancipation of all slaves.
140. In 1809 the British government issued an Order-in-
Council authorising British ships to search suspected
slave ships, even foreign vessels, on the high seas.
142. Wilberforce also
solicited the support of
foreign powers such as
Tsar Alexander to help
eradicate slavery.
Tsar Alexander
143. He mobilised 800 petitions, with almost a million
signatures, for Abolition and compelled the British
representative at the Congress of Vienna in 1814 to
insist on Abolition being included in the international
treaty.
144. The obstructionism of some was swept aside when
Napoleon returned from Elba and proclaimed the
Abolition of the Slave Trade! No doubt this was a bid to
win British favour.
145. In that Napoleon failed, but when Louis XVIII was restored by
British arms after Waterloo, he had no choice but to confirm
Napoleon’s gesture and bow to British pressure.
146. A Declaration by the eight powers of Europe that they
would abolish the Slave Trade “as swiftly as possible”
was annexed to the final Treaty signed on 9 June 1815.
147. However, only the British Navy seriously attempted to enforce the
Congress’s decision. Squadrons of British warships patrolled the
West coast of Africa to intercept slave ships and set captives free.
148. Now Wilberforce fought for the registration of all
slaves in British overseas territories with the goal
of their eventual emancipation.
149. Individual cases of abuses, such as the whipping of
slaves, were widely publicised to mobilise public opinion
against slavery. Slave owners shown to have mistreated
their slaves were prosecuted.
150. Wilberforce founded The Anti-Slavery Society in 1823
and wrote a new book “Appeal to the Religion, Justice
and Humanity of the Inhabitants of the British Empire on
behalf of the Negro Slaves in the West Indies.”
151. In response the slave owners mounted the most
unprecedented slander campaign to wear him down.
But Wilberforce was of tougher mettle
and refused to be diverted from his path.
152. In 1824 Britain passed a Bill ranking slave trading with
piracy and punishable by death. In spite of all the
opposition, the groundswell of anti-slavery opinion was
mobilising and finally, in 1833, while Wilberforce lay
dying, a runner was sent to his house to inform him that
his lifetime campaign was now fully successful.
A Legacy of Liberty
153. By an act of
Parliament,
all 700,000 slaves
in British overseas
territories
were set free!
154. “Thank God that I have lived to witness the day in which England
is willing to give twenty million sterling for the Abolishment of
Slavery!” he exclaimed. Within 3 days he died, rejoicing.
155. The fulfillment of
his labours was
the end of his life.
The body of William Wilberforce was
buried
in Westminster Abbey.
There the memorial states:
Wilberforce
Memorial
156. “. . . He was among the
foremost of those who fixed
the character of their times . . .
To warm benevolence . . . he
added the abiding eloquence
of a Christian life . . . a leader
in every work of charity . . .
his name will ever be specially
identified with those exertions
which, by the blessing of God,
removed from England the
guiltof the african slave trade
and prepared the way for
the abolition of slavery
in every colony of the Empire:
157. . . . He relied, not in vain,
on God; But in the
process, he was called to
endure great verbal abuse
and great opposition:
He outlived, however,
all enmity: . . . through
the merits of Jesus Christ,
his only Redeemer and
Saviour, (Whom, in his life
and in his writings
he had desired to glorify),
he shall rise in the
Resurrection of the just.”
158. The “History of European Morals” suggests that
“The unweary, unostentatious and glorious crusade of
England against slavery may probably be regarded as
among the three or four perfectly virtuous pages
comprised in the history of nations.”
159. Wilberforce was convinced
that Christianity must be
allowed to pervade and
penetrate every corner of a
Christian’s existence. He
determined to put his faith
into action in the political
arena and he persevered
for 59 years to outlaw one
of the most inhumane – and
profitable – practices of his
time.
160. “ . . . where the Spirit of the Lord is,
there is freedom.” 2 Corinthians 3:17
161. Wilberforce and his friends
were uniquely effective in
altering the spirit of their
age. John Venn commented
on the Clapham community:
“Their lives spoke far more
plainly and convincingly
than any words. We saw
their patience, cheerfulness,
generosity, wisdom and
activity daily before us, and
we knew and felt that all this
was only the natural
expression of hearts given
to the service of God.”
162. As William himself
often declared:
“it is not in fact
talents in which we
are chiefly wanting,
but in resolute
integrity.”
The test for every
question was :
“Is it morally right?”
163. Wilberforce declared that the central test of any country
was whether it really believed in and practised true
Christianity. As he declared, one of the supreme political
benefits of Christianity is its direct hostility to selfishness!
165. His biographer, John Pollock,
observed:
“Wilberforce would
disclaim the credit,
but the essentials of his
beliefs and of his
conscience formed the
foundation of the British
character for the next two
generations at least.
He was proof that a man
may change his times,
though he cannot do it
alone.”
166. Wilberforce had become the national conscience and
the effect of his actions on succeeding generations was
extraordinary.
167. He pioneered a new political integrity in an age of corruption and
transformed the House of Commons from a self serving club to
an Assembly concerned for the common good of people
worldwide.
168. Wilberforce had also
developed new ways
of rousing public
opinion (such as the
pamphlet wars,
petitions,
graphic prints,
local societies and
voters guides)
and using it to
influence Parliament.
169. He also ensured that British foreign policy would have its roots in
the Biblical principle of love for ones neighbour. Most significant of
all, Wilberforce transformed his fellow countrymen’s attitudes
towards Africa and India. He planted in the public conscience not
merely a sensitivity against injustice, but a positive sense of
obligation towards those people.
170. He inspired an ideal of trusteeship that was to
influence British conduct overseas for at least
another century
171. The abolition of slavery was
one of the great turning points
of history. If slavery had not
been abolished before the
great scramble for Africa
began, then Africa would
have been turned into a great
slave farm so enormous that
it would have corrupted and
destroyed Europe itself –
just as surely as world
conquest under conditions of slavery
destroyed the Roman Empire.
173. The abolition of the slave trade and slavery removed a
monumental obstacle for missionary outreaches in Africa.
So long as slaving continued it was very difficult for missionaries
to even get into the interior of Africa,
174. let alone gather a congregation amidst the understandable
suspicion of foreigners and fear of being captured by slave raiding
tribes.
175. And so William Wilberforce and his co-workers helped
prepare the way for the 19th Century to become the
greatest century for missionary advance.
176.
177. May God raise up a new generation of
Reformers in the tradition of Wilberforce
for the 21st Century.
178. “. . . proclaim
liberty
throughout
the land . . .”
Leviticus 25:10
179. Dr. Peter Hammond
Reformation Society
P.O. Box 74
Newlands, 7725
Cape Town, South Africa
Tel: (021) 689-4480
Email: info@ReformationSA.org
Website: www.ReformationSA.org