William Wilberforce

William Wilberforce (24 August 1759 – 29 July 1833) was a British politician and philanthropist who helped lead the campaign to end the Atlantic slave trade. Born in Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, he entered politics in 1780 and served as an independent Member of Parliament for Yorkshire from 1784 to 1812. A personal religious transformation in 1785 turned him into an evangelical Anglican, shifting his priorities and sparking a lasting commitment to reform. In 1787, Wilberforce met Thomas Clarkson and other activists, including Granville Sharp, Hannah More, and Charles Middleton, who were fighting the transatlantic slave trade. They convinced him to champion their cause, and he became a leading abolitionist in England. For two decades, he directed the parliamentary effort against the British slave trade, culminating in the Slave Trade Act of 1807. Wilberforce believed strongly in religion, morality, and education. He backed various causes, such as the Society for the Suppression of Vice, British missionary work in India, the establishment of a free colony in Sierra Leone, the founding of the Church Mission Society, and the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. His conservative instincts, however, led him to support repressive laws at home, drawing criticism that he ignored domestic injustices while fighting for enslaved people abroad. In his later years, Wilberforce pushed for the total abolition of slavery. He left Parliament in 1826 due to failing health but remained involved. His efforts helped bring about the Slavery Abolition Act of 1833, which ended slavery across most of the British Empire. Wilberforce died three days after learning the act had passed Parliament. He was buried in Westminster Abbey. Wilberforce was born in Hull on 24 August 1759, the only son of Robert Wilberforce, a wealthy merchant, and Elizabeth Bird. His grandfather, also named William, had built the family fortune through Baltic maritime trade and served twice as mayor of Hull. As a child, Wilberforce was small, sickly, and had poor eyesight. He started at Hull Grammar School in 1767 under headmaster Joseph Milner, a lifelong friend. The supportive school environment helped him, but his father died in 1768. Struggling, his mother sent the nine-year-old to live with a prosperous uncle and aunt, who had homes in London’s St James’s Place and Wimbledon. He attended a mediocre boarding school in Putney for two years and spent holidays in Wimbledon, growing very close to his relatives. Through them—especially his aunt Hannah, sister of the wealthy merchant and philanthropist John Thornton, who supported Methodist preacher George Whitefield—he became interested in evangelical Christianity. His mother and grandfather, staunch Church of England members, were alarmed by these nonconformist influences and his evangelical leanings. They brought the 12-year-old back to Hull in 1771. Wilberforce was devastated by the separation from his aunt and uncle. His family refused to send him back to Hull Grammar School because the headmaster had become a Methodist, so he attended Pocklington School from 1771 to 1776. Influenced by Methodist scruples, he initially avoided Hull’s lively social scene, but as his religious fervor faded, he took up theatre, balls, and card games. In October 1776, at seventeen, Wilberforce entered St John’s College, Cambridge. The deaths of his grandfather in 1774 and an uncle in 1777 left him independently wealthy, so he felt little need to study seriously. Instead, he threw himself into student social life, indulging in cards, gambling, and late-night drinking, though he found some classmates’ excesses distasteful. Fellow students considered him witty, generous, and an excellent conversationalist. He made many friends, including the studious future Prime Minister William Pitt. Despite his lifestyle, he passed his exams, earning a Bachelor of Arts in 1781 and a Master of Arts in 1788. Wilberforce considered a political career while still at university. During the winter of 1779–1780, he and Pitt often watched House of Commons debates from the gallery. Pitt, already set on politics, encouraged Wilberforce to join him in seeking a seat. In September 1780, at age 21 and still a student, Wilberforce was elected MP for Kingston upon Hull, spending over £8,000 to secure the votes, as was customary. Financially independent, he sat as an independent, vowing to be “no party man.” Though sometimes criticized for inconsistency, he supported both Tory and Whig governments as his conscience dictated, working closely with the party in power and voting on issues based on their merits. Wilberforce attended Parliament regularly but also kept a lively social life, frequenting gentlemen’s gambling clubs like Goostree’s and Boodle’s in Pall Mall, London.