SLAVES - Wilberforce & the Fight for Africa & Britain

William Wilberforce (1759-1833) was an English parliamentarian who led the fight for the abolition of the slave trade in the British territories (1807) and the fight for the end of slavery itself (1834). His critics, then and now, have often charged that Wilberforce only fought against slavery so that he could gain a name for himself and fame for his Christian faith. They also claim Wilberforce did nothing to help the poor and destitute of Britain, that he turned his back on the "white wage slaves" of his homeland.

In fact, in addition to his twenty year battle to end the slave trade and his lifetime battle for emancipation, Wilberforce spent his career in Parliament battling for the rights of British citizens, advocating for children employed as chimney sweeps, working alongside Elizabeth Fry to alter the prison system, protesting capital punishment and striving to moderate the criminal code, backing factory reform and agrarian reform. He was also the founder of the RSPCA (Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals). Wilberforce did more concrete good for Britain than all his naysayers combined and he did it without resort to violence. Many of those who slandered his best efforts were eager to see the revolutions in France and the United States emulated within Britain's borders. Wilberforce held steady as a reformer and political conservative who brought about lasting change by means of the democratic process. He fought for black and for white and he did so because it mattered to him, changing not only the face of Britain for the better, but the face of the world. Giving a speech in Parliament in 1816 he said, "They charge me with fanaticism. If to be feelingly alive to the sufferings of my fellow creatures is to be a fanatic, I am one of the most incurable fanatics ever permitted to be at large."

If you would like to know more about William Wilberforce, a good place to start is Murray Pura's small volume, Vital Christianity, which includes a succinct biography of Wilberforce as well as an in-depth look at what made him tick spiritually. The essay published in this volume is based on a paper by Pura presented at the Wilberforce Symposium at Gordon College, Wenham, Massachusetts, November 15-16, 2002, For the Love of God and the Love of Humanity: The Motivation Behind William Wilberforce’s Fight for Abolition and Emancipation. The paper has also appeared under the title The Wilberforce Enigma.