William Wilberforce And The End Of The African Slave Trade

The House of Commons 1793-94 by Karl Anton Hickel

A Speech was given by William Wilberforce that made abolition history

It is rare indeed that a single piece of oratory can spark not just a change in the law, but also a tidal shift in global opinion. Today, we are so used to glib, telegenic speakers, with their teleprompters and their ranks of speechwriters, that we forget that speechmaking was once a true art.

If ever there was a case for an oratorical masterpiece, it would have to be for the four-hour tour de force made by William Wilberforce to Britain’s House of Commons in 1789.

From the very start, Wilberforce’s words have a resonance and gravitas that make our modern speeches seem insipid by comparison: “When I consider the magnitude of the subject which I am to bring before the House — a subject in which the interests not just of this country, nor of Europe alone, but of the whole world and of posterity are involved . . . it is impossible for me not to feel both terrified and concerned at my own inadequacy to such a task . . . the end of which is the total abolition of the slave trade.”

For Wilberforce, this speech was to be the start of a most arduous road. It would last a full 18 years and culminate in Britain’s Abolition of the Slave Trade Act, which came into force 200 years ago. But even on May 12, 1789, when Wilberforce laid out the case for the abolition of slavery, his speech was recognized as a defining moment in British history.

With this one speech, Wilberforce had thrown down the gauntlet to the slave traders (many of whom were actually watching from the galleries). It was to be printed many times over, including a verbatim account in Cobbett’s Parliamentary History of England — and it was these printed copies that were to spark a firestorm of moral outrage.

Following Wilberforce’s speech, The House of Commons was undecided and adjourned the debate. During this time that war broke out with France and the French Revolution took place. Political attention was diverted away from the abolition of the slave trade, but Wilberforce and the abolitionists didn’t give up their cause. They simply carried on gathering evidence and campaigning.

William Wilberforce was born on 24 August 1759 in Hull, the son of a wealthy merchant. He studied at Cambridge University where he began a lasting friendship with the future prime minister, William Pitt the Younger. In 1780, Wilberforce became a member of parliament for Hull, later representing Yorkshire. His dissolute lifestyle changed completely when he became an evangelical Christian, and in 1790 joined a leading group known as the Clapham Sect. His Christian faith prompted him to become interested in social reform, particularly the improvement of factory conditions in Britain.

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