Mini-Biography - William Wilberforce (1759-1833)

It was a warm night on an island of the West Indies. The year was 1833. On the top of a hill overlooking the ocean, a group of slaves rose to their feet and eagerly looked towards the east. Surely the sun had never been awaited more expectantly! With the first rays of the sun, these men, and millions of others would be free! They climbed the hill as slaves and now …

“Wooooooooo-hooooooooo!”

The history of how slavery was abolished is not complete without the story of William Wilberforce, generally considered to be the most influential individual in the fight against this abomination.

Early Life

William Wilberforce was born in 1759 to a wealthy, English family. He had many advantages in life, but not everything was easy for William. He was never very strong physically and battled with serious health problems all of his life. His early life was also shaped by sorrow with the death of his father.

During the time that William was a teenager, English traders raided the African coast on the Gulf of Guinea, capturing between 35 and 50 thousand Africans a year to be shipped across the Atlantic and sold into slavery. It was such a profitable business that many powerful people had become dependent upon it. One publicist for the West Indies trade wrote, "The impossibility of doing without slaves in the West Indies will always prevent this traffic being dropped. The necessity, the absolute necessity, then, of carrying it on, must, since there is no other, be its excuse."

In 1776 William went to St. John's College in Cambridge, where he played the part of a spoiled, rich kid. He never studied very hard and gave himself to pursuing his own enjoyment. It was here that he became lifelong friends with William Pitt, the future Prime Minister of England.

After university, William decided to go into politics and ran for a seat in the House of Commons. He won the election and became a member of parliament for Yorkshire. This, however, was not for any righteous motive. He later admitted, "The first years in Parliament I did nothing—nothing to any purpose. My own distinction was my darling object."

Conversion and Vision

In 1784 Willian and a friend read a book together called “The Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul”. Soon they began studying the Greek New Testament and gradually William saw that total commitment to Christ was needed. He realized he wasn’t a Christian and struggled in anguish for several months. Gradually he yielded his will and became a true Christian. He knew that his new commitment might cost him friends and influence but he was determined to stand up for what he now believed.

After his conversion, William almost decided to get out of politics but was persuaded by many friends to remain and use his power and influence for good. One of these friends was John Newton, a former slave trader and still famous for writing “Amazing Grace”. He, Pitt and several others believed that William could lead the cause against the slave trade. William, however, at first was not convinced; he said: "I feel the great importance of the subject and I think myself unequal to the task allotted to me." However, after much thought and prayer, William decided to give it his all. "My walk is a public one," he wrote in his diary. "My business is in the world, and I must mix in the assemblies of men or quit the post which Providence seems to have assigned me."

The Long Battle

William Wilberforce now had a life mission. He wrote in his diary: "God Almighty has set before me two great objects, the suppression of the Slave Trade and the Reformation of Manners." From this moment on, William dedicated his life to reforming the morals of society and ending the slave trade. He gave away one fourth of his annual income to the poor. He fought on behalf of chimney sweeps, single mothers, Sunday schools, orphans, and juvenile delinquents. He helped found groups like the Society for Bettering the Cause of the Poor, the Church Missionary Society, the British and Foreign Bible Society, and the Antislavery Society. But his whole life was dedicated to one main purpose – the abolition of slavery.

On 12 May 1789, Wilberforce made his first speech against the slave trade before the House of Commons. The speech was praised in the newspapers as being one of the most eloquent ever to have been heard in the house. The Star reported that “the gallery of the House of Commons on Tuesday was crowded with Liverpool Merchants; who hung their heads in sorrow - for the African occupation of bolts and chains is no more.” William himself was optimistic and said he had “no doubt” of his chances of quick success.

But the initial optimism was wrong; the battle would be long. Many of the politicians of the time were in favor of slavery and so began to use delaying tactics to fight against Wilberforce. People would debate and form commissions to investigate and hold hearings, request and hear information, but nothing really happened. By the end of the political year, the whole matter was adjurned till the next year. Still, Wilberforce didn’t lose his optimism.

By the end of the first year, he had managed to have 12 resolutions against the slave trade introduced to the house, only to be outmaneuvered on fine legal points. Other bills introduced by Wilberforce were defeated in 1791, 1792, 1793, 1797, 1798, 1799, 1804, and 1805. All these bills were blocked by bribery, intimidation, vested interests, parliamentary filibustering, entrenched bigotry, international politics, slave rebellions, his ongoing physical problems, and political fear.

When Wilberforce showed that he would not let the issue die, pro-slavery forces targeted him personally and even physically assaulted him! He was vilified so fiercely, that one friend feared that one day he would read about William being "broiled by Indian planters, barbecued by African merchants, and eaten by Guinea captains." To add to the external attacks, Wilberforce suffered poor health all his life, sometimes keeping him bedridden for weeks. During one such time, he wrote, "I am still a close prisoner, wholly unequal even to such a little business as I am now engaged in: add to which my eyes are so bad that I can [barely] see how to direct my pen." Many of his companions abandoned him and gave up the fight, but Wilberforce continued steadfast – confident of ultimate success.

Finally, on 23 February 1807, Parliament voted overwhelmingly in favor of abolition of the slave trade. During the debate an emotional tribute was given to Wilberforce. It is written than "Wilberforce was overcome by the power [the] concluding passages, and sat with his head on his hands, tears streaming down his face. As [the reader] reached his final sentences the House broke into one of those scenes that it reserves for great occasions. Members stood and cheered him tumultuously." Scenes like this are very rare in the House of Commons, where applause is forbidden. Wilberforce later wrote “I was myself so completely overpowered by my feelings that I was insensible to all that was passing around me”.

This was the beginning of the ultimate victory. The Slave Trade was abolished from the whole British Empire, and William turned his attention to the complete emancipation of all slaves. Though he was forced to retire from Parliament due to his health, others continued where he had begun and the final bill abolishing slavery was read on July 26, 1833. Wilberforce heard the bill on his dying bed and said “Thank God that I have lived to witness a day in which England is willing to give twenty million sterling for the Abolition of Slavery”. Three days later, on 29 July 1833, he died.

Conclusion

What gave this man the power to continue amidst the enormous opposition? There were two things that stand out. First was William’s personal faith in God and His people. His biographer said that “one man's faith could mobilise a whole nation's conscience.” William once wrote: "The best hope for Britain is not in her fleet and armies, not so much in the wisdom of her rulers, but in the spirit of her people and in the persuasion that she still contains many who, in a degenerate age, love and obey the Gospel of Christ".

Secondly, William knew that he wasn’t able to do it alone; he had friends that encouraged and inspired him to continue. He was a prominent member of a group of influential Christians devoted to ending slavery and changing society for the better. They lived in Clapham and people called them the “Clapham Sect”. By banding together, these Christians were able to encourage each other and fight on. Truly, as the Bible says, “One can chase a thousand. Two can put to flight ten thousand.” As John Wesley, another of his friends, lay dying, he wrote him a letter that sums up William Wilberforce’s life secret:

“Unless God has raised you up for this very thing, you will be worn out by the opposition of men and devils. But if God be for you, who can be against you? Are all of them together stronger than God? O be not weary of well doing! Go on, in the name of God and in the power of his might, till even American slavery (the vilest that ever saw the sun) shall vanish away before it ... That he who has guided you from youth up may continue to strengthen you in this and all things, is my prayer.”