William Wilberforce (1759-1833)
William Wilberforce was an English
MP at the age of only twenty five. He lived for a period of time with
his uncle who had been one of Whitefield's converts and he was enthusiastic
about Jesus at that time. But his mother then removed him from his uncle
and worked to remove Jesus from his life. However she failed although
it wasn't until the end of 1785 before Wilberforce once again started
to serve Christ. Then Sir Charles Middleton urged
Wilberforce to stop the Atlantic slave trade.
The slave trade was believed to be
an economic necessity. It was a time that emphasized man's inhumanity
to man. Because there was money involved the Africans were not even considered
to be human beings Very few voices, even in the church, spoke up against
this evil. Fortunately there were a few exceptions including
John Wesley and
John Newton.
Wilberforce was under tremendous pressure
whilst he prepared for the battle to come and it took eighteen years before
compassion for human beings surfaced in the souls of the members of the
House of Commons and, in February 1807, voted for the abolition of slavery.
Wilberforce became the moral leader
of the western world. He encouraged Elizabeth Fry
in her work in prison relief and Jeremy Bantam in prison reform. Wilberforce
helped to found Bible societies throughout the country and he changed
for the good the moral tone of British society.
However the Abolition of Slavery did
not stop people throughout the Commonwealth from keeping and abusing slaves.
It wasn't until 1833 that Parliament voted to set slaves free throughout
the British Empire. It was just in time to tell Wilberforce, gravely ill
on his deathbed, that the cause had now been soundly won.
| A Fistful of Heroes | Christian Focus Author: John Pollock | ISBN 1-85792-237-9 |