William Wilberforce
William Wilberforce was born in Hull on the coast of Great Britain on August 24, 1759, to merchant Robert Wilberforce and Elizabeth Bird. He was their only son and the family was rich, including his grandfather William who prospered in the maritime trade, even being mayor of Hull. As you might guess, England may have been Christian, but most of the people there were so in name only. The Wilberforces attended church, but weren’t practicing Christians and classified those who took religion seriously as either Methodists or enthusiasts.
Called Billy when he was young, his father died before his tenth birthday and Elizabeth, who was sick and didn’t think she’d survive, sent him off to live with his aunt Hannah and her husband at Wimbledon. Had Elizabeth known that they were devoted Methodists, Billy would have stayed with his grandparents. The lad enjoyed his time with his aunt, uncle and their friends. Before William became a teenager, the grandparents found out about the religion tossed on him, with his grandfather saying, if little Billy turns Methodist, he’ll not see a penny of mine. Before long, William was back in Hull, but it didn’t seem he would go back to the non-religion of his family, who would try to undo what his aunt and uncle had done. His faith was strong as he even communicated covertly by mail with the relatives in Wimbledon.
By the time William was sixteen, the parties and fawning attentions given him brought him back to the worldliness his grandparents had worked towards. He entered Cambridge and continued in this wild lifestyle, although just not as bold as the others. At school he became acquainted with William Pitt the Younger, who sat in on the House of Lords, with Billy joining him. The evil relatives expected him to follow in the merchant profession, but William thought about politics instead. He had the qualifications: oratory skills, wit and political talent. By the end of his college days, his goal was a Parliament seat.
He was elected shortly after his twentieth birthday, which just qualified him for the position. Not long after that, William Pitt the Younger joined him. The duo became really powerful in Parliament at the time. Billy was popular and part of five gentlemen clubs, where he got together with the rich in eating, singing, gambling and drinking for hours and hours. When he and his friend of the Pitt name were both 24, they went with another friend to France for a brief stay. Wilberforce met some of the bigwigs, including King Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette, the Marquis de Lafayette and the 77 year-old American by the name of Franklin who flew a kite and was the only voice against slavery. Around that time, Billy obtained a prestigious seat in Parliament while William Pitt the Younger became prime minister. Working together they were at the height of prestige and power, accomplishing some great things.
William’s next vacation was to the Italian and French Rivieras with his mom, who was ill. Also along was a young cousin and one coach needed someone to accompany the Parliament member. The year was 1784, so frequent flier miles weren’t around yet, nor were railroads. Transportation was accomplished with the help of horses pulling coaches, and it took hours. Selecting the right person to join you for weeks was imperative. Billy’s first choice couldn’t make the journey so he selected on Isaac Milner, his old friend from childhood. Holding the position of Lucasian Professor at Cambridge – once held by Isaac Newton and later by Stephen Hawking – Milner knew a few things, despite his huge size. He was a giant and closet Methodist while William was small at five-foot-three, but they were equal intelligence-wise. They engaged in theological conversation and Billy debated with anyone. His Aunt Hannah’s based faith, which had disappeared, returned with the trip as Billy questioned all the partying and agreed with Milner about spiritual matters. When he returned to London, he faced a huge problem since he was a politician. Those people and morals didn’t usually mix.
For weeks, he stayed home at Lauriston House and many thought he was melancholy mad. In a way he was depressed and felt he would have to join a monastery, but that didn’t happen. For him, this time was his conversion, The Great Change, taking a year or two. He finally retired his membership in the gentlemen’s clubs – not a difficult decision for him to make. Would he have to leave politics? He couldn’t resolve this question so he secretly visited Newton in early December 1785, though he did it hesitantly. The great man assured him leaving politics wasn’t necessary. God had used Wilberforce so he could accomplish greater things, since Christianity needed to rain down on the secular climate of the day. Just how that was to be done was another issue.
A few months after his decision, William entered these twenty words in his diary. God Almighty has set before me two Great Objects: the suppression of the Slave Trade and the Reformation of Manners. The first part is self-explanatory. Perhaps his meeting that Franklin guy had an effect on him. The manners issue has almost nothing to do with Emily Post. Instead it refers to the state of decay and corruption in Great Britain, which needed remediation. Morality and the culture needed change, and badly. Slavery was horrible but besides it, the evils in England were much too prevalent. Ridding the world of both these deprivations would remove many social diseases. The list of problems went on and on: child labor utilizing five or six year olds; ten or twelve hour days on the job; unhealthy and dangerous conditions of employment; hitting the bottle way too much as some people were perpetually drunk, especially the upper classes; animal cruelty, such as bearbaiting and bullbaiting; public hanging; sexual trafficking – prostitutes whose average age was sixteen. It seemed to Wilberforce that he saw a world completely devoid of the word of Christ. People used and abused others – humans and animals – in a degenerative way of decay and misery.
William had a different way of looking at things, realizing that God was just and righteous, who would judge people by the way they lived and especially how they treated other men, women, and animals. God demanded kindness and respect. He had no favorites: rich or poor were considered in the same way. I don’t have to tell you how He felt about the slave trade. In Parliament Billy had two allies in Hannah Moore and Thomas Clarkson. They were both in favor of ending slavery and they found someone to help them in Wilberforce, who was hesitant on the issue at first. He joined their cause in time.
William was aware that he couldn’t solve the slavery question by himself. He knew his Maker would help and that his friends in Parliament would be part of the solution as well. Eighty-seven at the time, the revivalist John Wesley sent a letter to William. It was probably the last one he penned. Wesley was aware of the letter recipient’s effort dealing with slavery.
Reading this morning a tract wrote by a poor African, I was particularly struck by that circumstance, that a man who has a black skin, being wrong or outraged by a white man, can have no redress; it being a law in all our Colonies that the oath of a black against a white goes for nothing. What villainy is this! That He who has guided you from youth up may continue to strengthen you in this and all things is the prayer of, dear sir,
Your affectionate servant,
John Wesley
In that day, many disagreed with both Wesley and Wilberforce about their feelings about the evil slave trade. Evangelical Christians weren’t happy with those who advocated slavery or many who went to church every Sunday as cultural Christians. Some felt that the duo carried things too far. Wesley’s letter emphasized reliance on God as he warned Billy that all he did by himself might not achieve his goal. There would be setbacks and conquering it may be too difficult an effort. The elder pointed out that it would be a spiritual as well as cultural and political struggle. Also what was necessary was prayer, which William did every day. He read the Scriptures, even memorizing Psalm 119 in its entirety.
He also had a great support system of Christian sisters and brothers. He had the right community that was needed. Called the Clapham Circle, it was named because the majority of the members lived in that London suburb. Many who were challenged for their religious beliefs made up the group, also called the Clapham Saints or the Clapham Sect. Many in the great society in England thought that William and the Clapham people’s view of ending slavery and aiding the poor were embarrassing. The creator of the Clapham Circle was Wilberforce’s friend, John Thornton. His wealth enabled him to purchase a large twelve-bedroom Clapham home for the community. John later expanded the place, even buying houses nearby. He didn’t let his money interfere with just causes.
In 1807, after almost two decades trying, Wilberforce saw that his work wasn’t in vain as the slave trade was abolished. It took a few more years but just before he died in 1833, slavery was outlawed. A few countries followed suit, including the United Sates, which abolished the slave trade in 1808. Unfortunately slavery there and all its cruelty and injustice didn’t really end with the end of the Civil War. William continued with efforts on the Reformation of Manners and when he died on July 29, 1833, morals and manners had improved, leading the way to more changes as time passed.
William’s life has been memorialized in a Westminster Abbey statue and the Wilberforce Monument in Hull. The first slavery museum in Great Britain opened in 1903 in Hull at Wilberforce House. Also named after him is the Wilberforce Memorial School for the Blind in York. The University of Hull created the Wilberforce Institute for the Study of Slavery and Emancipation near the place of his birth, and the black college, Wilberforce University in Ohio, opened in 1856. Since 2007, the Freedom Festival has been held in Hull in his honor. Released that same year is a movie about his life, Amazing Grace on the 200th anniversary of the abolition.