British Anglican Abolitionists Timeline

The Anglicans helped with the abolition movement in Britain. They includes Granville Sharp, John Newton, Tomas Clarkson, Olaudah Equiano, William Wilberforce, & William Cowper. Granville Sharp was like a lawyer during his time fighting for freedom for black slaves. He fight two famous cases. One of the cases is when Sharp helped free Jonathan Strong from his abusive master 1765. The other case is when he helped free James Somerset from being ship back to Jamaica after he escaped from his master in 1771. From 1774 to 1776 Sharp wrote and publish ‘A Declaration of the People’s Natural Right’ and ‘The Law of Retribution’. John Newton with the help from William Cowper wrote the hymn ‘Amazing Grace’ a hymn that is used during the abolition movement and the civil right movements for blacks. Later that year William Wilberforce went to Newton for some guidance because he was confused. Newton gave Wilberforce some courage to stay and fight to end the slave trade and told him “serve God where he is”. In 1781, Sharp fight a case were the captain of the slave ship Zong and slave owners throw 132 slaves overboard. Sharp lost the case because slaves was consider as things, not human and they had the right to throw them over board. In 1779, Tomas Clarkson won a Latin essay competition with his essay questioning the slave trade. When traveling in 1785, Clarkson had a vision from God telling him that slavery was evil and it needs to end. Clarkson translated his essay to English and published it in 1786. Newton with the help from Cowper wrote and publish ‘Thoughts upon the African Slave Trade’ in 1787 and it was his thoughts on the slave trade. During that time Newton was asking for forgiveness because he was a slave trader. In 1788, Cowper wrote and in 1793, publish his famous anti-slavery poem ‘The Negro’s Complaint’. It is about slavery in a slaves eyes. Olaudah Equiano a freed slave created his personally petition in 1789 and got many signatures and send it to the King to end the slave trade, but the King rejected it. Wilberforce spoke and argue with the House of Commons in 1789. It became one of his famous speeches about the slave trade and slavery. Equiano with the help from other abolitionists published his book about his first-hand testaments about his life. The abolitionists created Sierra Leone in 1791, it was created in West Africa as a settlement for free black slaves. Equiano died in 1797 and never got to see the end of the slave trade or end of slavery. Three years later in 1800, Cowper died because of health issues, but his work was still used to help end the slave trade and slavery. The slave trade in Britain ended on 1807, and the abolitionists were happy that they won and continued till the end slavery in Britain. Few months later Newton died a happy man knowing he was forgiven for his sins and is a change man. Clarkson publish his book ‘History of the Abolition of the African Slave Trade’ in 1808. It was his accounts and stories about the end of the slave trade in Britain. Sharp died in 1813 and never saw the end of slavery and his work and stories was passed down so that people know about the good things he has done. Slavery has ended in Britain with the passing of the Slavery Abolition Act in 1833. Three days after Wilberforce got the good news died in 1833. In 1946, Clarkson died when fighting to end slavery in other countries.

Bibliography:

“Abolitionist Campaigners.” The British Library, January 8, 2007. http://www.bl.uk/learning/histcitizen/campaignforabolition/abolitionbackground/biogs/greatcampaigners.html.

George, Smith. Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 17. Smith, Elder & Co., 1909.

“Granville Sharp.” The Famous People, November 3, 2017. https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/granville-sharp-6392.php.

“Granville Sharp (1735–1813).” BBC, n.d. http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/sharp_granville.shtml.

Hugh, Brogan. “Clarkson, Thomas(1760 — 1846).” Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, September 23, 2004. http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-5545.

Jason, Kelly. “Anti-Slavery Movement, Britain.” The International Encyclopedia of Revolution and Protest, 2009, 1 — 7. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781405198073.wbierp0096.

Louis, Merrill. “The English Campaign for Abolition of the Slave Trade,” The Journal of Negro History, 30, no. 4 (1945): 382. https://doi.org/10.2307/2715027.

Tejvan, Pettinger. “Biography of William Wilberforce.” biography online, January 12, 2012. https://www.biographyonline.net/politicians/uk/william-wilberforce.html.

“Olaudah Equiano Biography.” Biography Online, November 8, 2013. https://www.biographyonline.net/writers/olaudah-equiano.html.

“The Creation of ‘Amazing Grace.’” The Library of Congress, n.d. https://www.loc.gov/item/ihas.200149085/.

William, Cowper. “The Negro’s Complaint,” 1788. https://www.trumanlibrary.org/educ/ThemeBook_Finalpgs6284.pdf.

William, Wilberforce. “William Wilberforce’s 1789 Abolition Speech,” May 12, 1789. https://www.trumanlibrary.org/educ/ThemeBook_Finalpgs6284.pdf.