WILLIAM WILBERFORCE (1759 1833)
Orator, philanthropist and Member of Parliament for Hull
1780 – 1784,
The County of Yorkshire 1784 1812,
Bramber 1812 1825

Early Years

William was born in Hull, the only son of Robert Wilberforce, who made his fortune in the Baltic trade. He was educated at Hull Grammar School under the headmaster, Joseph Milner, and later at Pocklington Grammar School, York. His father died when he was 9 and he went to live in Wimbledon with his evangelical Aunt and Uncle William and Hannah (half sister of John Thornton). However, when his mother heard that her relatives were 'enthusiasts' and that William had heard John Newton preach, she promptly returned him to Hull, to prevent him imbibing ‘Methodism’! In 1775 when his grandfather died William inherited a considerable sum as he also did from his uncle.

University to Parliament

At 17 he entered St John's College, Cambridge and soon became a close friend of fellow student William Pitt. Wilberforce was described as eloquent, charming, extroverted and quick witted. In 1780, at the age of 21, he invested £8,000 in being elected MP for Hull. He moved to London to be nearer Pitt, who became Prime Minister in 1784. He was introduced to the Gentlemen's Clubs and became involved in gambling, but when he won £600 from a man who could ill afford the loss, he resolved to stop immediately.

Conversion

In 1784 he took a European tour with Isaac Milner, brother of his headmaster and later Dean of Carlisle. Together they read Philip Doddridge's Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul, and the Greek New Testament. His spiritual journey had started. In 1785 he withdrew from public life for a short time to seek God's will. He was counselled by John Newton, and lived for several months with John Thornton in Clapham.  This was the beginning of his strong Christian faith that was to last a lifetime and was the motivation for all his personal and political activity.

Objectives

Wilberforce believed God had called him to 'two great objects; the abolition of the slave trade and the reformation of national morality'. The last letter written by John Wesley was to Wilberforce supporting his anti-slavery campaign. He himself wrote just one book A Practical View of the Prevailing Religious System of Professed Christianity in the Higher and Middle Classes in this Country compared with Real Christianity. Its title expresses the heart of the man and his understanding of 'vital Christianity'.

Health

All his life he suffered from weak health   he wore a steel frame to support his back and he had bad eyesight. Growing illness meant that he had to move from Clapham to Kensington Gore (where the Albert Hall now stands) to be closer to Parliament. Ill health forced him to abandon the long journeys to York and in 1812 he resigned his Yorkshire seat and became MP for the pocket borough of Bramber (East Sussex).

Missions

In addition to his keen interest in home affairs he was also strongly supportive of missions to India. He successfully campaigned to allow missionaries to go out with the East India Company and for the appointment of a Bishop of Calcutta. In 1825 due to continual ill-health he resigned his parliamentary seat and moved to Mill Hill, north of London although he continued to take an active interest in political issues until the end of his life. 

Abolition of Slavery

Wilberforce's life's ambition was to set the slaves free in the British Colonies.  He succeeded in abolishing the slave trade in 1807 and when he resigned from Parliament he handed the responsibility for leading the Parliamentary campaign for the abolition of slavery to Thomas Fowell Buxton.  He lived to see his life’s work crowned with success. He died in 1833, just a few days after the 'Abolition of Slavery Act' was passed by Parliament. Slaves in all British Colonies and Territories were set free five years later (1838), with compensation of £20 million paid to the plantation owners for losing their 'property', but no compensation paid to the slaves. At the request of Parliament, Wilberforce was buried in Westminster Abbey where a statue of him can be seen today. He remains a great inspiration to those who long to see ‘vital Christianity’ linked to social action.