Editing William Wilberforce (section)

==Early parliamentary action==

Wilberforce had planned to introduce a motion giving notice that he would bring forward a bill for the [[Abolition of the Slave Trade]] during the 1789 parliamentary session. However, in January 1788, he was taken ill with a probable stress-related condition, now thought to be [[ulcerative colitis]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Pollock|1977|pp=78–79}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Hague|2007|pp=149–157}}</ref> It was several months before he was able to resume work, and he spent time convalescing at [[Bath, Somerset|Bath]] and Cambridge. His regular bouts of gastrointestinal illnesses precipitated the use of moderate quantities of [[opium]], which proved effective in alleviating his condition,<ref name="Hochschild 2005 139">{{Harvnb|Hochschild|2005|p=139}}</ref> and which he continued to use for the rest of his life.<ref>{{Harvnb|Pollock|1977|pp=79–81}}</ref> In Wilberforce's absence, Pitt, who had long been supportive of abolition, introduced the preparatory motion himself, and ordered a [[Privy Council]] investigation into the slave trade, followed by a House of Commons review.<ref>{{Harvnb|Pollock|1977|p=82}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Hague|2007|p=159}}</ref>
[[File:Official medallion of the British Anti-Slavery Society (1795).jpg|thumb|left|[[Josiah Wedgwood#"Am I Not a Man And a Brother?"|"''Am I Not A Man And A Brother?''"]] Medallion created as part of anti-slavery campaign by [[Josiah Wedgwood]], 1787|alt=A black man with shackles around their wrists and ankles is kneeling to the right. An inscription at the bottom reads ""Am I not a man and a brother?"]]

With the publication of the Privy Council report in April 1789 and following months of planning, Wilberforce commenced his parliamentary campaign.<ref name="Hochschild 2005 139"/><ref>{{Harvnb|D'Anjou|1996|p=166}}</ref> On 12 May 1789, he made his first major speech on the subject of abolition in the House of Commons, in which he reasoned that the trade was morally reprehensible and an issue of [[natural justice]]. Drawing on Thomas Clarkson's mass of evidence, he described in detail the appalling conditions in which enslaved people travelled from Africa in the middle passage and argued that abolishing the trade would also bring an improvement to the conditions of existing slaves in the [[West Indies]]. He moved twelve resolutions condemning the slave trade, but did not refer to the abolition of slavery itself, instead dwelling on the potential for reproduction in the existing slave population should the trade be abolished.<ref>{{Harvnb|Hague|2007|pp=178–183}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Hochschild|2005|p=160}}</ref> With several parliamentarians signalling support for the bill, the opponents of abolition delayed the vote by proposing that the House of Commons hear its own evidence; Wilberforce, in a decision that has been criticised for prolonging the slave trade, reluctantly agreed.<ref>{{Harvnb|Hague|2007|pp=185–186}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Hochschild|2005|pp=161–162}}</ref> The hearings were not completed by the end of the [[parliamentary session]] and were deferred until the following year. In the meantime, Wilberforce and Clarkson tried unsuccessfully to take advantage of the egalitarian atmosphere of the [[French Revolution]] to press for France's abolition of the trade.<ref>{{Harvnb|Hague|2007|pp=187–189}}</ref> In January 1790, Wilberforce succeeded in speeding up the hearings by gaining approval for a smaller parliamentary [[Parliamentary select committees of the United Kingdom|select committee]] to consider the vast quantity of evidence which had been accumulated.<ref>{{Harvnb|Hague|2007|pp=189–190}}</ref> Wilberforce's house in Old Palace Yard became a centre for the abolitionists' campaign and the location for many strategy meetings.<ref name="Wolffe2009" /> Petitioners for other causes also besieged him there.<ref>{{Harvnb|Wilberforce|Wilberforce|1838|p=88}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Hague|2007|pp=201–202}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Hochschild|2005|p=188}}</ref>

{{Quote box| quote=Let us not despair; it is a blessed cause, and success, ere long, will crown our exertions. Already we have gained one victory; we have obtained, for these poor creatures, the recognition of their human nature, which, for a while was most shamefully denied. This is the first fruits of our efforts; let us persevere and our triumph will be complete. Never, never will we desist till we have wiped away this scandal from the Christian name, released ourselves from the load of guilt, under which we at present labour, and extinguished every trace of this bloody traffic, of which our posterity, looking back to the history of these enlightened times, will scarce believe that it has been suffered to exist so long a disgrace and dishonour to this country.| source=William Wilberforce — speech before the House of Commons, 18 April 1791<ref>{{cite book|title=The Parliamentary history of England from the earliest period to the year 1803 |place=London |year=1817 |volume=XXIX |page=278 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iFcxAAAAIAAJ&pg=PT170 |publisher=Printed by T.C. Hansard}}</ref>
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Interrupted by a general election in June 1790, the committee finished hearing witnesses and in April 1791, with a closely reasoned four-hour speech, Wilberforce introduced the first [[Bill (proposed law)|parliamentary bill]] to abolish the slave trade.<ref>{{Harvnb|Hague|2007|p=193}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Pollock|1977|pp=105–108}}</ref> After two evenings of debate, the bill was easily defeated by 163 votes to 88, as the political climate having swung in a conservative direction after the French Revolution and in reaction to an increase in radicalism and to slave revolts in the [[French West Indies]].<ref>{{Harvnb|D'Anjou|1996|p=167}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Hague|2007|pp=196–198}}</ref>

A protracted parliamentary campaign to abolish slavery continued, and Wilberforce remained committed to this cause despite frustration and hostility. He was supported by fellow members of the [[Clapham Sect]], among whom was his best friend and cousin [[Henry Thornton (abolitionist)|Henry Thornton]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Pollock|1977|p=218}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|D'Anjou|1996|p=140}}</ref> Wilberforce accepted an invitation to share a house with Henry Thornton in 1792, moving into his own home after Thornton's marriage in 1796.<ref>{{Cite ODNB| last1 =Wolffe| first1 = John| contribution = Clapham Sect (act. 1792–1815)| date = September 2005| title = Oxford Dictionary of National Biography|isbn= 978-0-19-861411-1|doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/42140| last2 =Harrison| first2 =B.| last3 =Goldman| first3 =L.}}</ref> Wilberforce, the Clapham Sect and others were anxious to demonstrate that Africans, and particularly freed slaves, had human and economic abilities beyond the slave trade and capable of sustaining a well-ordered society, trade and cultivation. Inspired in part by the utopian vision of [[Granville Sharp]], they became involved in the establishment in 1792 of a free colony in Sierra Leone with black settlers from Britain, Nova Scotia and Jamaica, as well as native Africans and some whites.<ref name="Turner1997" /><ref>{{Harvnb|Hochschild|2005|p=150}}</ref> They formed the [[Sierra Leone Company]], with Wilberforce subscribing liberally to the project in money and time.<ref>{{Harvnb|Hague|2007|pp=223–224}}</ref>

On 2 April 1792, Wilberforce brought another bill calling for abolition of the slave trade.<ref>{{Harvnb|Pollock|1977|p=114}}</ref> [[Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville|Henry Dundas]], as [[Home Secretary]], proposed a compromise solution of gradual abolition of the trade over several years. This was passed by 230 to 85 votes, but Wilberforce believed that it was little more than a clever ploy to ensure that total abolition would be delayed indefinitely.<ref>{{Harvnb|Pollock|1977|p=115}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Tomkins|2007|p=99}}</ref>

===War with France===
On 26 February 1793, another vote to abolish the slave trade was narrowly defeated by eight votes. The outbreak of [[First Coalition|war with France]] the same month prevented further consideration of the issue, as politicians concentrated on the national crisis and the threat of invasion.<ref>{{Harvnb|Pollock|1977|pp=122–123}}</ref> The same year, and again in 1794, Wilberforce unsuccessfully brought before Parliament a bill to outlaw British ships from supplying enslaved people to foreign colonies.<ref name="Turner1997" /><ref>{{Harvnb|Hague|2007|p=242}}</ref> He voiced his concern about the war and urged Pitt and his government to make greater efforts to end hostilities.<ref>{{Harvnb|Pollock|1977|pp=121–122}}</ref> Growing more alarmed, on 31 December 1794, Wilberforce moved that the government seek a peaceful resolution with France, a stance that created a temporary breach in his long friendship with Pitt.<ref>{{Harvnb|Hague|2007|pp=247–249}}</ref>

Abolition continued to be associated in the public consciousness with the French Revolution and with British radical groups, resulting in a decline in public support.<ref>{{Harvnb|Hague|2007|pp=237–239}}</ref> Despite this, Wilberforce continued to introduce abolition bills throughout the 1790s.<ref name="Hochschild 2005 252">{{Harvnb|Hochschild|2005|p=252}}</ref><ref name="Hague 2007 511">{{Harvnb|Hague|2007|p=511}}</ref>

The early years of the 19th century saw an increased public interest in abolition.<ref name="Ackerson 2005 12">{{Harvnb|Ackerson|2005|p=12}}</ref> In June 1804, Wilberforce's bill to abolish the slave trade successfully passed all its stages through the House of Commons. However, it was too late in the parliamentary session for it to complete its passage through the House of Lords. On its reintroduction during the 1805 session, it was defeated, with even the usually sympathetic Pitt failing to support it.<ref>{{Harvnb|Hague|2007|pp=313–320}}</ref> On this occasion and throughout the campaign, abolition was held back by Wilberforce's trusting, even credulous nature, and his deferential attitude towards those in power. He found it difficult to believe that men of rank would not do what he perceived to be the right thing, and was reluctant to confront them when they did not.<ref name="Hague 2007 511"/>

===Final phase of the campaign===
[[File:House of Commons Microcosm.jpg|thumb|The House of Commons in Wilberforce's day by [[Augustus Pugin]] and [[Thomas Rowlandson]] (1808–1811)|alt=see caption]]
Following Pitt's death in January 1806, Wilberforce increased his collaboration with the Whigs, especially the abolitionists. He gave general support to the [[Ministry of All the Talents|Grenville–Fox administration]], which brought more abolitionists into the cabinet; Wilberforce and Charles Fox led the campaign in the House of Commons.<ref name="Turner1997">{{cite journal| last = Turner| first = Michael| title = The limits of abolition: Government, Saints and the 'African Question' c. 1780–1820| journal = The English Historical Review| volume = 112| issue = 446| pages = 319–357| publisher = Oxford University Press| date = April 1997| jstor = 578180| doi=10.1093/ehr/cxii.446.319}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Hague|2007|pp=328–330}}</ref>

A radical change of tactics, which involved the introduction of a bill to ban British subjects from aiding or participating in the slave trade to the [[French colonies]], was suggested by the maritime lawyer James Stephen.<ref>{{Harvnb|Pollock|1977|p=201}}</ref> A bill was introduced and approved by the cabinet, and Wilberforce and other abolitionists maintained a self-imposed silence, so as not to draw any attention to the effect of the bill.<ref>{{Harvnb|Hague|2007|pp=335–336}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal| last = Drescher | first = Seymour| title = People and Parliament: The Rhetoric of the British Slave Trade| journal = Journal of Interdisciplinary History| volume = 20| issue = 4| pages =561–580| publisher = MIT Press| date =Spring 1990| doi =10.2307/203999| jstor = 203999}}</ref> The approach was successful and the Foreign Slave Trade Bill received [[royal assent]] on 23 May 1806.<ref name="Pollock 1977 211">{{Harvnb|Pollock|1977|p=211}}</ref> Wilberforce and Clarkson collected a large volume of evidence against the slave trade over the previous two decades, and Wilberforce spent the latter part of 1806 writing ''A Letter on the Abolition of the Slave Trade'', which was a comprehensive restatement of the abolitionists' case.<ref>{{Harvnb|Hague|2007|pp=342–344}}</ref>

Wilberforce was re-elected as an MP for Yorkshire in the [[1806 United Kingdom general election]],<ref name="Hague 2007 348">{{Harvnb|Hague|2007|p=348}}</ref> after which he returned to finishing and publishing his ''Letter'', a 400-page book which formed the basis for the final phase of the campaign.<ref>{{Harvnb|Hague|2007|p=351}}</ref> Lord Grenville, the Prime Minister, successfully introduced an Abolition Bill in the House of Lords first,<ref name="Hague 2007 348"/> then [[Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey|Charles Grey]] moved for a second reading in the Commons on 23 February 1807. As tributes were made to Wilberforce, whose face streamed with tears, the bill was carried by 283 votes to 16.<ref name="Pollock 1977 211"/><ref>{{Harvnb|Hague|2007|p=354}}</ref> Excited supporters suggested taking advantage of the large majority to seek the abolition of slavery itself, but Wilberforce made it clear that total emancipation was not the immediate goal.<ref>{{Harvnb|Hague|2007|p=355}}</ref>