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Topic outline

 

  • Time: 16 hours
    Level: Intermediate

 
 

Introduction

  • Introduction Resource
  • William Wilberforce, the politician and religious writer, was instrumental in the abolition of slavery in Britain in 1807. This unit explores Wilberforce’s career and writings and assesses their historical...
 

1 Wilberforce’s early career

  • 1.1 Early influences Resource
  • In the early summer of 1771, the clergyman and writer John Newton (1725–1807) was visited at Olney by two of his admirers, William and Hannah Wilberforce, a wealthy childless couple, and their 11-year-old...
  • 1.2 Upbringing; MP for Yorkshire Resource
  • William Wilberforce (Figure 1) was born in Hull, the son and grandson of substantial merchants who had made their fortune in trade between Yorkshire and the Baltic. His father died in 1768 and he subsequently...
  • 1.3 Wilberforce’s ‘Conversion’ to Evangelicalism Resource
  • Wilberforce’s religious ‘conversion’ in 1785 was profound but not instantaneous. Through the influence of Isaac Milner, an Evangelical clergyman who was his companion on extended journeys on the Continent,...
  • 1.4 Wilberforce in Parliament Resource
  • When Wilberforce made his first major speech against the slave trade in the House of Commons in April 1789, few could have anticipated that it was the start of a campaign that he would have doggedly to...
 

2 Britain and the French Revolution

  • 2 Britain and the French Revolution Resource
  • In Reflections on the Revolution in France (1790) Edmund Burke (1729–97) made clear his hostile reaction to the Revolution, which he perceived as a dangerous destruction of tradition and continuity in...
 

3 Britain in the 1790s

  • 3 Britain in the 1790s Resource
  • A problem that has exercised historians for many years is, put in its most concise form: why was there no revolution in Britain in the 1790s? The question is a significant one here, because religious factors...
 

4 Wilberforce’s A Practical View

  • 4.1 The impact of A Practical View Resource
  • A Practical View is significant both as a kind of ‘manifesto’ by a prominent figure in a religious movement of rapidly expanding influence, and as part of an ongoing process of reflection on the...
  • 4.2 The ‘inadequate consciousness of the real teachings of Christianity’ Resource
  • Following the Introduction, Wilberforce describes what he regards as an inadequate consciousness of the real teachings of Christianity among those who profess to adhere to it. This ignorance is grounded...
  • 4.3 Religion and political stability Resource
  • Wilberforce’s whole approach is strong indirect testimony to the predominance among his contemporaries of the kinds of religious outlook he is criticising, although objective evaluation requires a detachment...
  • 4.4 Political implications Resource
  • In chapter VI of A Practical View Wilberforce broadens his perspective from the primarily spiritual emphasis of the earlier chapters to a consideration of the political implications of his analysis. In...
  • 4.5 The interaction of religion and society Resource
  • Now read the previous extract again with the associated commentary which draws out the key points and their significance, particularly in helping to understand the interaction of religion and society at...
  • 4.6 Contemporary reactions Resource
  • Wilberforce’s underlying conservative inclinations and his vested interest in the existing social order led him to emphasise those aspects of Christianity that are conducive to stability rather than the...
 

5 Wilberforce and slavery

 

6 Conclusion

  • 6 Conclusion Resource
  • William Wilberforce died on 29 July 1833, two days after hearing that the legislation for the abolition of slavery in British dominions had successfully completed its passage through the House of Commons,...
 

References and Acknowledgements

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