wilber force

William Wilberforce (1759-1833), the famous British anti-slavery campaigner, was born into a rich family (he was the son of a wealthy merchant). After studying at Cambridge University, he became a politician, representing Hull and later Yorkshire in the British Parliament.

Then in 1780 he became an evangelical Christian. His religious beliefs led him to give up his formerly hedonistic lifestyle and to become a staunch advocate of social change, for example, the improvement of factory conditions in Britain and Roman Catholic emancipation.

Over a period of 26 years Wilberforce headed the parliamentary campaign against the slave trade and introduced 18 resolutions in the House of Commons (the lower house of the British Parliament) against the practice. Unfortunately all his efforts -- even with the help of his parliamentary colleagues William Pitt the Younger, Charles Fox and Edmund Burke -- failed for many years. A compromise measure was passed in 1791 that would see slavery gradually abolished. It was not until 1807 that he finally achieved success with the slave trade being finally abolished throughout the British Empire.

William Wilberforce, politician, philanthropist and humanitarian, could have had an easy, pleasure-filled life. Instead, he chose the hard and unpopular road of fighting against the slave trade, and for a better life for many other groups such as children and animals.