Set The Captives Free

The Campaign to Abolish Slavery

The campaign to abolish slavery, led by William Wilberforce in the British Parliament, was the world’s first direct-action campaign. But it wouldn’t have been successful without another influential figure, Christian lawyer and Colonial Under-Secretary Sir James Stephen, whose patient vetting of colonial legislation ensured that the abolition of slavery was enforced throughout the British Empire. Rob Yule, Senior Minister of Greyfriars, told this inspiring story of Christian social action in his message to Greyfriars’ Classical Service on 1 April 2007. A shorter version was published in DayStar, New Zealand's evangelical monthly magazine, in July 2007, to coincide with the release of the film on Wilberforce, Amazing Grace.

Two hundred years ago this week, on 25 March 1807, the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act was passed by the British Parliament. The Act sought to outlaw the inhuman trade in slaves throughout the British Empire. It imposed a large fine of £100 for every slave found aboard a British ship.

But the trade continued, and slave captains pursued by the Royal Navy would often throw slaves into the sea to avoid or reduce a fine. Not until 23 August 1833, with the passing of the Slavery Abolition Act, was slavery finally outlawed in Britain’s dominions, allowing slaves to be freed throughout the British Empire, especially in the West Indies.

Persistent phenomenon

Today, ostensibly, slavery is prohibited. The Muslim nation of Mauritania, in West Africa, where slavery is still allowed, is a notable exception. Yet slavery still persists in various forms, and it is estimated that there are 25 million slaves today. In countries like India, families trapped in debt become indentured labourers to money lenders. In sub-Saharan Africa children abducted by mercenary groups are conscripted as child soldiers. And in S. E. Asia and Eastern Europe, young women and girls are lured by promises of a glamorous life into enforced prostitution. Groups such as Anti-Slavery International, Free the Slaves, and the International Justice Mission still campaign to rid the world of slavery.

Why is slavery obnoxious? Because all human beings are created in God’s image and are worthy of dignity and respect, as affirmed in the opening chapter of the Bible (Genesis 1:26-27). No other worldview, ancient or modern, has such a high view of human worth. By contrast the ancient Babylonian creation epic, the Enuma Elish, for example, says the warring gods brought human beings into existence to be their slaves, to do their menial work for them so that they might have a life of ease. It’s no accident that Christians led the campaign to abolish slavery, because of their commitment to this view of human beings as created equal in God’s image.

Parliamentary career

The campaigner who succeeded in abolishing the British slave trade was William Wilberforce. Wilberforce came from a privileged merchant family. At 21 he became MP for Hull, the youngest member of the House of Commons. An ambitious man, he confessed ‘My own distinction was my darling object.’ He was a close friend of William Pitt, England’s youngest Prime Minister. The two were political celebrities in the 1780s. Their charm, wit and position made them greatly sought after in English high society.

Wilberforce’s conversion to Jesus Christ in 1784 profoundly changed his motivation. On a trip to Europe with his former school teacher, Isaac Milner, a Christian, he read William Law’s A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life. Law’s book and conversations with Milner brought him to faith.

This led him to ask, ‘Can one serve God and one’s nation in parliament?’ Were the two goals exclusive? He discussed the issue with John Newton, the converted slave ship captain and hymn writer. They met in secret because evangelical Christians were frowned on by the establishment. Newton told Wilberforce: ‘God has raised you up for the good of the church and the good of the nation. Maintain your friendship with Pitt. Continue in Parliament. Who knows that for such a time as this God has brought you into public life and has a purpose for you.’

Wilberforce became the spokesman in parliament for the abolitionists, many of whom were Quakers. Thomas Clarkson, a founder of the Abolition Society in 1787, travelled English ports researching the realities of the slave trade. His work provided the basis for Wilberforce’s first speech to Parliament on the subject — a passionate address which lasted three hours! Wilberforce challenged his fellow-parliamentarians: ‘Having heard all of this you may choose to look the other way but you can never again say that you did not know.’

Powerful vested interests opposed Wilberforce. A great deal of Britain’s wealth depended on the slave trade. It earned the equivalent of today’s British housing market or IT industry. The Liverpool historian, Ramsey Muir, records that in just one year, 1807, some £17 million changed hands in the slave trade in Liverpool alone. Wilberforce was fiercely attacked in the newspapers, he was physically assaulted, he faced death threats and he had to travel with an armed bodyguard.

Public relations

But the abolitionists were brilliant at public relations and devised radical new ways of bringing their cause to public attention. They produced pamphlets full of eye-witness testimony. They used challenging graphics like the famous poster of the slave ship, Brookes, which showed captive Africans packed like sardines in a can.

The potter Josiah Wedgewood struck a brooch depicting an enslaved man on bended knee, with the inscription beneath: ‘Am I not a man and a brother?’ An uncomfortable image by today’s standards, at the time the brooch became a fashion statement that ladies wore to society evenings. There were sugar boycotts, signed petitions, even a march on the prime minister’s office. The fight to abolish the slave trade was the world’s first direct-action campaign.

Political setbacks

By 1796 the abolitionists thought they had sufficient support in Parliament to succeed. But opponents offered free opera tickets to some of the bill’s supporters for the night of the vote. Several chose to go to the opera rather than stay in the House and the bill was defeated by 4 votes. Wilberforce had a nervous breakdown and his health collapsed.

At this point Wilberforce’s friend John Newton reminded him of the Bible story of Daniel in the lions’ den. Daniel, he explained, was a public official who, like Wilberforce, found himself in great difficulty. But Daniel trusted in the Lord and was faithful. Though he had many enemies no one could prevail against him. Newton told Wilberforce, ‘The God whom you serve continually is able to preserve and deliver you, he will see you through.’ This proved to be just the advice that Wilberforce needed.

Wilberforce persisted. His abolition bill became an annual occurrence in Parliament. In the end the slave merchants were wrong-footed by a separate act suggested by fellow abolitionist James Steven, which in 1806 banned British subjects from participating in the French slave trade. At a stroke this wiped out about two thirds of the slave trade and ensured the ultimate passage of Wilberforce’s abolition bill. At 4 o’clock in the morning of 25 March 1807the House of Commons voted by 283 to 16 to abolish the slave trade. Wilberforce bowed his head and wept.

This statute abolished the inhuman trade in slaves. It did not, however, change the position of existing slaves. For the rest of his life Wilberforce worked to emancipate slaves throughout the British colonies. The Slavery Abolition Act he worked so hard for all his career, was not passed by the British Parliament till a month after his death, on 23 August 1833.

Public service

The tireless work of a lesser-known person was crucial in this final act in the abolition of slavery. Opponents of the Slavery Abolition bill of 1833 obstructed its introduction into Parliament till late in the session, to make it impossible for legislation to be drafted in time. But they reckoned without James Stephen — an evangelical Christian lawyer in the British Colonial Office. He accomplished the remarkable feat of drafting the entire bill in just 48 hours, out-witting the opposition.

In 1834 James Stephen was appointed Assistant Under-Secretary in the Colonial Office. Two years later he became Permanent Under-Secretary — the top civil servant advising successive British Secretaries of State for the Colonies. Ministers came and went; Stephen, as permanent head of the Colonial Office, stayed. He exercised a huge influence for good during these crucial years of British Colonial policy.

He sought to protect indigenous peoples from colonial exploitation. Here in New Zealand he drafted the instructions to Governor Hobson that led to the Treaty of Waitangi — a unique document in colonial history protecting the rights of New Zealand’s indigenous Maori people. He clashed with Edward Gibbon Wakefield of the New Zealand Company, over the issue of Maori land.

After the passage of the Slavery Emancipation Act Stephen made it his business to scrutinise all the legislation in Britain’s colonies so that it complied with the new Act. Many of the slave owners and planters in the West Indies thought that they could simply circumvent the legislation. But Stephen’s patient work behind the scenes made sure that the Act was enforced and that the slave owners were held accountable.

Practical lessons

What are the lessons of this story?

Firstly, God needs people in politics, in law, in the professions and public service. We cannot complain that society is going to the dogs if we are not prepared to stand up for righteousness in high places. William Wilberforce in politics, Sir James Stephen in the public service, were evangelical Christians leaders of courage and integrity, in the right place at the right time.

Second, God honours those who are faithful in small things. Stephen was a conscientious lawyer who worked his way to the top position in the British Colonial Office at a time when Britain was the world’s leading imperial power. His Christian convictions about the equality of all human beings before God led him to uphold the rights of indigenous peoples and moderated British colonial policy, making the British Empire perhaps the most humane in history.

Thirdly, such humanitarian principles are the outworking of personal faith and conviction. Wilberforce opposed slavery because he believed that God is just and holds all men accountable for their actions. Stephen worked for justice and fairness in colonial policy because he believed that God created all people equal in his image.

Fourthly, both Wilberforce and Stephen illustrate the importance of perseverance. It took Wilberforce twenty years to end the British slave trade, and thirty more before slavery itself was made illegal. It was a disheartening struggle. Newton’s encouragement sustained him in an hour of crisis. A word in season might make all the difference whether someone you know perseveres in a world-changing cause.

Rob Yule, 1 April 2007
© 2007, Greyfriars Presbyterian Church