Slave-trade abolition was a joint effort
Posted: 02 Nov 2006 @ 00:00
From Ellen Gibson Wilson
Sir, — Your headlines (17 February) refer to the "bicentenary of the Wilberforce Act" (Leader comment) and the "Wilberforce bicentenary" (General Synod).
The 1807 Act abolishing the slave trade was in fact masterminded through
Parliament by Lord Grenville. Wilberforce’s great oratory and persistence in
the cause contributed hugely, but the 1807 Act was passed by a new
administration riding the crest of an unprecedented public campaign led by
Thomas Clarkson.
The slave-trade abolition campaign was the first human-rights movement in
history — to quote my biography of Clarkson. More recent studies, notably Adam
Hochschild’s Bury the Chains (2005), conclude that Wilberforce and Clarkson
were "one of history’s great partnerships". They were seen as joint leaders in
their day.
Success was also due to the thousands of men and women who petitioned
Parliament, gave up sugar, and filled meeting halls to denounce the injustice
of the slave trade and slavery itself.
ELLEN GIBSON WILSON
19 Aldwark, York YO1 7BX