How Did Wilberforce Contribute To The Abolition Of Slave Trade

One of the most important characters in the fascinating history of the United Kingdom is undoubtedly William Wilberforce. Among all of his contributions to the country, his role in the abolition of slavery in UK is considered to be the most notable of his achievements. Therefore, this essay will first provide a concise explanation of how slavery began while the second part will show how it became a profitable business for British traders. The last section, meanwhile, analyses in details the role played by William Wilberforce, one of the leaders of the abolitionist movement, and all his efforts to overcome the unfree labour in the United Kingdom.

It is known that slavery did not begin with the Europeans. In Africa there were already some forms

He studied at Cambridge University and took politics classes, which made him a persuasive speaker. Around the years of 1784 and 1786, Wilberforce was converted into Evangelical Christianism, which made him drop this life of racehorses and gambling in order to direct his thoughts to the public life. At the age of 21 Wilberforce was elected to the Parliament representing Hull, where he was encouraged by his friend William Pitt to be the leader of the movement against slavery and against slave trade. In the beginning of 1787, Wilberforce met Thomas Clarkson to plan strategies to convince the Parliament to ban the Slave Trade. In 1789, Wilberforce introduced the first bill to abolish the unfree labour. He lost the debate by 163 votes to 88, but he never gave up. Three years later, Wilberforce achieved his first victory, when the House of Commons passed a bill to cease the slave trade, but with the amendment that this ban should be “gradual”, which was actually understood as “never” by those who was being benefited from these

Wilberforce was not completely satisfied with his accomplishment, since it just banned the trade in enslaved people. Wilberforce, then, continued his works for the abolition of all types of slavery within the British territory. Despite the public pressure towards the banishment of slavery and all of Wilberforce’s efforts, the Parliament still denying to ban slavery, until the reform that removed most of slavery supporters.

In early 1833, Wilberforce wrote one last petition due to his fragile health conditions. The debate in the Parliament lasted 3 months and, on 26 of July, the Abolition of Slavery bill finally passed in the House of Commons. A courier went to Wilberforce’s house to let him know that slavery would finally be abolished in all British colonies. Three days later, on July 29th, William Wilberforce passed away, with the feeling that his duties have been