History Of Slave Trade And Abolitionist Movement With Focus On William Wilberforce

1. What are academic disciplines? Where did they come from? What are their characteristics?
2. What is an interdisciplinary studies approach? What are its characteristics? How is it valuable?
3. Provide a descriptive overview of the six steps in the “Broad Model of Interdisciplinary Process” 

A brief history of William Wilberforce

Slave trade can be described as the transatlantic trading of the slaves and it was established during the 17^th century. At those times trading ships used to sail from Europe to the west coast of Africa and it contained a cargo of manufactured goods. The trading of the goods used to take place for several weeks and months for the captured that was provided by the African traders. However, the highlighting fact is that the European traders used to find the deal lucrative because, in place of the goods, the European traders used to get healthy young men for slavery which the African traders used to catch after the raiding the settlements located at the far away African coast. Once the ships are full, the ships of the European traders used to sail either for the Caribbean or for America. Studies have revealed that the during the voyage, the African slaves were kept in very small spaces crammed up with one another with very little space to move. The conditions were found to be very rough and many slaves were unable to survive the voyage. The final leg of the voyage the ships used to return with the cargoes of a luxury item, tobacco, rum, sugar. Also, it was even estimated that the by the year 1790, a total of 480,000 people were brought as slaves in the British Colonies. It has been seen that a majority of the slaves used to be enslaved and made to work in the plantation of America and the Caribbean. The places where the African slaves were enslaved and made to work had a majority of the European Colonizers. The plantations where the slaves are forced to work used to produce the tobacco or sugar which are then sent back to Europe for consumption.

 In the year 1807, an act was passed by the British Government which had the provision to abolish the slave trade throughout the entire British Empire. Slavery otherwise persisted throughout the British Colonies until the year 1838 and one of the striking facts was that the abolitionist was actively raised a campaign against the international trading of slaves even after 1838. However, there were people that supported the slave trade and argued that the contributions of the slaves helped in the increasing the country’s economy and at the same time raised the consumerism in Britain. Even after all these people started to move against the slave trade and this started during the end of the 18^th century. However, it was seen that the trading of the slaves was profitable and the at end of the 18^th century the abolitionist (that fought for the abolition of the international trade of slaves) were opposed severely. The people that supported slavery used propaganda and persuasive arguments to put forward the need for the trading of slaves. The role of the slaves was important in bringing an end to slavery, however, it was often overlooked. Even the scenes of resistances by the slaves of the Caribbean islands were common. This study will talk about how William Wilberforce used Faith and Politics to abolish the slave trade in Great Britain. In addition, the study will also emphasize the what effect if any William Wilberforce's life had on the abolition of slavery in the United States and subsequent nations.

William Wilberforce’s “A Practical View”: emphasis on faith

William Wilberforce is a known English Politician who is considered to be the prime voice of the movements of abolition in the Parliament. After he converted to evangelical Christianity, his newfound beliefs started to affect his public life. he along with his friends were called as the saints and being from an upper class they used to receive a lot of respect. He championed several cases but it was the case of slavery and the slave trade that made him work tirelessly. One of the remarkable instances in the life William Wilberforce came when he met Thomas Clarkson for the first time in the year 1787 with a copy of Essay on Slavery. This was for the first time two both complete strangers met and they had a collaboration for about 50 years. Both these men had great qualities and it used to complement each other. It is a remarkable fact that William Wilberforce was able to turn the vague sentiments of the people that belonged from the privileged sections of the society. William Wilberforce was able to make the vague sentiment into a real force of opposition among the parliamentarians so that he could gain the support of the among the party members. Since the year 1789, William Wilberforce was on a regular basis introduced bills so that the slave trade can be banned or prevented. However, it is important to note that William Wilberforce faced a lot of opposition from the ones that used to make a lot of money from the slave trading and thus they even used the delaying tactics to prevent the smooth flow of the bill. It is important to note that the first ever bill on slave trade was introduced in the year 1792 to cease the trade the trading of the slaves. Although this bill was passed it had some altered provisions like the bill was amended to ban the slave trade but in a gradual fashion. However, this gradual process was interpreted as never by the ones that were unwilling to bring the change. In the year 1807, 25^th March the bill on abolishing slave trade was passed in the British Colonies. The name of the bill was the Slave Trade Act and it carried 267 votes. However, it is important to mention that the act was not to abolish slavery within the empire but just to stop the trade of the one that is enslaved. Later on, William Wilberforce worked hard to abolish slavery over the whole of the British Colonies.

The impacts of William Wilberforce will be analysed here. The practical view presented a manifesto both in terms of the state of British politics and also an ongoing process of religious movement. A practical view was presented by William Wilberforce after the French Revolution. Before the publication of the A Practical View, William Wilberforce was working intermittently for around four years to finally publish the work on 12^th April 1797. William Wilberforce was a very busy person and was unable to get time to write on such a critical issue. The Book was paged around 491 and he was prone to write the ways he used to talk and this provided an eloquent, rhetoric and a lively insight into the issue. However, William Wilberforce lacked the dedication and time to make a structured thinking to reflect on this book. The underlying motive of William Wilberforce was to covey the vital messages of biblical Christianity to his contemporaries. William Wilberforce tried to invoke a sense of real Christianity into the people and thus tried to transform the social, political and the moral state of the nation. This work was later found to be an instant success and around 7500 copies were sold and the book was even reprinted 5 times within the period of 6 months of the publication of the book. This book was published in 9 English editions by the year 1811 and in 18 English editions by 1830. This book was later on published I the United States in the year 1798 and was translated to French in the year 1821 and in Spanish in the year 1827.

 After the introduction section, William Wilberforce tried to describe and highlight the inadequate consciousness that exists within the real teachings of Christianity and the way it lingers within the people that adhere and profess it. He highlighted that the main ignorance lies within the way people read the Bible without much emphasis on the details and depth. He then mentioned the evangelical views in relation to human nature is basically depraved, evil, corrupt and it was against the views of the Professed Christians. The views of the Professed Christians are inclined towards all virtue and the is naturally pure. Within the dark and pessimistic nature of humanity, William Wilberforce showed a variance with the new perspective of the optimistic perception that is held by the deist enlightened writers and the secular enlightened writers. According to William Wilberforce, the failure of the Christians in delivering the slaves from the eternal misery and failure in reconciling the human being with the God centrally nullifies the importance of the Self-sacrifice of Jesus Christ. It is important to note that William Wilberforce describes the role of emotions within the purview of religion. It is a passage that describes the transitional nature of the enlightenment and the romantic views. William Wilberforce meant that there is a connection between the feelings that are driven by the feelings and a strong sense of oneself and the nature of humans which highlights a progressive, rational, social, and a constant idea. William Wilberforce even mentions that the feelings of oneself are not held in the religion is an opinion which is seen majorly but it is harmful. William Wilberforce argued that the warm feeling is very much promoted and advocated within Bible and at the human level, this must be encouraged and cultivated so that it becomes the base of human achievement. William Wilberforce says that just the warm feelings are not enough and then there is a need for the people to shift their sentiments to passion. In the same passage, he also mentions that one must maintain ties with an enlightened state of mind. It is thus important to mention that William Wilberforce emphasized the feelings and they should be made reasonable and justifiable in terms of the authoritative texts in the Bible and the common senses of a person. There is a need for people to encourage their feelings and it needs to be tested and encouraged in one's achievements and daily life. William Wilberforce even mentions that it would be tough for the people to have a warm feeling towards an invisible deity. While it is true that such feelings will have a strong base due to its link with the apparent experiences in the past ages and also in the scriptures. In his book “A Practical View” he showed and highlighted a comparison between the widespread conception of the inadequate understanding of Christianity with his own conception of real Christianity that is based on the scriptures. William Wilberforce addressed specific issues like the Sunday observance and he advocated that this day must be spent with the spiritual pursuits and cheerfully. Also, one must spend an uplifting time with the friends, families and helping others as well. William Wilberforce entirely denounced the practices that emphasize the dwelling that causes disgrace to the Christian Community. William Wilberforce even criticized the ways of equating Christianity merely and at the same time leading a useful life and being considerate to others. It is thus important to mention that the moral critique and the spiritual exhortations among the contemporaries can be termed as a “grand radical defect”.

 Thus, it is important to highlight that the political and the cultural climate during the 1970s provided a fertile soil for the fructification of Wilber's message. By the year 1979, the revolution gained ample amount of enthusiasts that unfolded several events in France and reflected on human corruption. Along with it, the William Wilberforce work was revisited of longstanding issues in the Christian tradition. The work of William Wilberforce provided a picture of the mood that existed during those times and the elevated romantic consciousness towards the violent and the anarchic potentialities within a human. While there were other religious thinkers as well during those times and they emphasized on the radical approach in comparison to what William Wilberforce did in his “A Practical View”.

Political implications of the “A Practical View”- The work of William Wilberforce provided a broadened perspective that ranged from the primary emphasis on the spirituality to the later emphasis on the political implication associated with the analysis. William Wilberforce work contributed to the dynamic nature of British politics and British society and the ongoing issue of the French Revolution.

William Wilberforce is one of the renowned names that is associated with the abolition of slavery. The success of the William Wilberforce increased due to the formidable capacity of William Wilberforce to argument and it included both the spiritual as well as the secular aspects. While it is important to note that the capacities of William Wilberforce also included the argument on the spiritual and secular levels that included the statements of the principles and the practical considerations. There are many writing of William Wilberforce on slavery and it included a writing in the year 1807 which is a letter on the abolition of the trading of slaves and another one is an appeal to the humanity, justice and religion of the British Empire on behalf of the Negro Slaves that reside in West Indies in the year 1823. This later led to the increase in the interaction between the non-European nations and Britain. In the year 1790, a campaign was planned to be executed which languished due to the unrest in Britain, rebellion in Ireland and war with France. It is important to mention that in the latter part of 1804, the political scenario miraculously turned towards the William Wilberforce and in the year 1806 he was on the final verge of having a victory. In the early part of 1807, William Wilberforce published a latter based on the abolition of the slave trade and it was addressed towards the inhabitants and the freeholders of the Yorkshire. Considering the title, it was not a short pamphlet. Rather it was a 350-page book that emphasized on the arguments of the abolition of the slave trade and these arguments was used at the parliamentary session and William Wilberforce even hoped that the measure will be eventually be passed. The arguments were formally addressed to the constituents of the Yorkshire. However, the real challenge and the target audience were the members of the House of the Commons and the House of the Lords. The outcome finally depended on the vote accrued from the House of Commons and House of Lords. In the 350-page letter, William Wilberforce put forward the present concerns of the and prospects of Britain.

William Wilberforce stated that Almighty is the creator of the world and he governs it and he highlighted that the sufferings of the nations are just the reflection and punishment for the national crimes that are committed. The fall and decline of the nations is thus an important aspect of how a nation is treating its depressed classes. If the slave trade is considered a national crime, then it is a confession that the British people must acknowledge their guilt. In his writing, he specially focussed on the systematic structuring of how the slaves were suffering from the slave trade. He focused on the situation that was prevailing during those times in Africa. William Wilberforce exclusively highlighted the issues that are being faced by the slaves when they are transported from Africa to Britain by sea voyage and the conditions that were prevailing in the West Indies. Thus, William Wilberforce argued that the condition can be improved by the abolition of the slave trade. This will render the plantation owners devoid of the slaves upon whom the production of the farms depended the most. The unavailability of the slaves will make the plantation owner their existing slaves in a proper and better way. From this account, it became clear that William Wilberforce's religious enthusiasm resurfaced. Thus according to William Wilberforce, the exploitation of African slaves is a clear deviation of the moral and the religious light and abolition of the same will lead to a condition of social improvement. While going against the same will be like going against the rules that are created by and it will be a sin against the creations of God. William Wilberforce highlighted the sufferings of the West Indians as bad and the denial of light of religious truth, moral improvement and the hopes of mortality will be similar to going against the Christian scripture.  

When William Wilberforce introduced the legislation on the anti-slavery into the parliament. He had high hope initially but he was quick to realize that the opposition is going to be fierce. William Wilberforce faced a lot of heat from the different sections of the society. The first opposition came from the business person as they were unwilling to sacrifice their profits, and the financial stakeholder that were associated with the slave trade howled. The sole reason was that the British economy relied heavily on slavery and the slave trade. While another important part is that majority if the elected representatives were unwilling to sacrifice their votes. There were people that claimed that the slavery helped the slaves because it helped the salves to get out of the treacherous condition of Africa. There were other important personalities like the Royal Family opposed to this abolition of slavery and along with it, the Admiral Lord Nelson was unwilling the accept the doctrine of the William Wilberforce. William Wilberforce along with the other abolitionists repeatedly introduced the legislation in the British Parliament. Parliamentary chicanery, hostility and apathy dragged the elongated the parliamentary battle. In the House of Commons, William Wilberforce was an indefatigable and eloquent sponsor of legislation on anti-slavery. In the year 1789, William Wilberforce introduced 12 major resolutions for the abolition of the slave trade and the newspapers of that time highlighted William Wilberforce as one of the eloquent speech provided in the House of Commons. The resolutions that were put forward by William Wilberforce gained the support of Pitt (Prime Minister), Charles Fox (opposition) and the Edmund Burke. However, it failed to be enacted into law and the issues were then postponed for the next session of the Parliament. William Wilberforce later on again brought the issue to the next session of the House of Commons in the year 1791 for the abolition of the slave trade. However, the resolution was defeated by 163 to 88. Again in 1792, William Wilberforce gained the support of thousands of British subjects through a signed petition and again William Wilberforce put forward a motion into the House of Commons. At that time, a gradual acceptance of abolishing the Slave-trade was accepted but in a gradual fashion. However, the acceptance of the motion came as a disappointment for the William Wilberforce and his supporters of slavery abolition. Later on for the next 15 years, William Wilberforce was unable to achieve any major breakthrough towards the ending trading of slaves (there were only partial breakthroughs due to the domestic engagement with the war with Napoleon). However, on 23^rd February 1807, William Wilberforce had a major breakthrough with the passage of the bill for the abolition of the Slave trade in the British West Indies. This bill was passed the House of Commons with a 183 to 15 and on the 25^th March 1807, the abolition of slave trading became a law. It is important to note that the people that were already enslaved did not receive any benefit even after the several years of the passage of the bill. William Wilberforce thus became concerned and along with Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton asked the House of Commons for an emancipation of the slaves. In the year 1823, William Wilberforce became the president of the organization named Society for the Mitigation and Gradual Abolition of Slavery and it worked throughout the British Dominions. Later on, the parliamentary leadership is turned to Buxton and William Wilberforce retired in the year 1825 from the House of Commons. However, on 26^th July 1833, in the House of Commons, the Slavery Abolition Act was passed which later on became an Act a month later. It is vital to highlight that after the Act became a law, William Wilberforce died just after the three days.

In March 1807, the resolution of the abolition of the slave trade in a quick fashion through both the Houses of the Parliament. It is remarkable to see the effects of slave trade abolition in the colonial possessions and the British ships. William Wilberforce and his religious arguments on the abolition of slavery were led to the infusion of liberal ideas if toleration and justice among the people as well as the parliamentarians. This also led to an increase into the influence of Enlightenment. However, the in the year 1807 the passage of the abolition of the slave trade was supported by both the houses of the parliament which was initially lacking in the initial stages of the William Wilberforce’s campaign on anti-slave trade. William Wilberforce's campaign against slavery was a subject of growing interest especially outside Europe and especially the areas that had British colonies. At that time India was experiencing a cultural change and on the Evangelical context. There were several church missionaries that were founded in the year 1790 and in the year 1799, William Wilberforce himself took an active part in the Church Missionary Society. William Wilberforce also took an initiative in which he established a company named Sierra Leone Company and William Wilberforce hoped along with others that it will a provide a legitimate basis for the commerce and will also help in the spreading Christianity in the Western parts of Africa. The present-day historians put that the William Wilberforce's campaign against the slavery was in a holistic were an enthusiastic humanitarian progress. In the year 1814, when Napoleon was defeated, William Wilberforce took it as a chance to put pressure on the other countries in Europe to join hands together and help Britain in abolishing the slave trade. William Wilberforce tried to have a peace agreement with the new government of France after the defeat of Napoleon. Also, it is important to note that in the year 1815, the Congress of Vienna issued law against the slave trade and this has finally caused both Portugal and Spain to move towards the abolition of slave trade. Although it is important to note that slavery still continued in America for many decades and it came to end only after 1860 and that too after the violent civil war. Later on, the abolition of the slave trade gained momentum and it gained an international recognition.

In the year 1823, the last and final substantial work on slavery was published by William Wilberforce. William Wilberforce and other were unable to gain any breakthrough in abolishing the slave trade in the West Indies. Thus, William Wilberforce and other tried to shift their focus to free the slaves from the British colonies. Later on, due to his ageing and bad health, William Wilberforce took retirement from active politics. Later on, the supporter of William Wilberforce took the agitation of the abolition of the slave trade to the next level where William Wilberforce was unable to participate.

Conclusion

From the above discussion it can be concluded that by the year 1790, a total of 480,000 people were brought as slaves in the British Colonies. It has been seen that a majority of the slaves used to be enslaved and made to work in the plantation of America and the Caribbean. The places where the African slaves were enslaved and made to work had a majority of the European Colonizers. The plantations where the slaves are forced to work used to produce the tobacco or sugar which are then sent back to Europe for consumption. Wilberforce published a book "A Practical View". The underlying motive of William Wilberforce was to covey the vital messages of biblical Christianity to his contemporaries. William Wilberforce tried to invoke a sense of real Christianity into the people and thus tried to transform the social, political and the moral state of the nation. This work was later found to be an instant success and around 7500 copies were sold and the book was even reprinted 5 times within the period of 6 months of the publication of the book. This book was published in 9 English editions by the year 1811 and in 18 English editions by 1830. This book was later on published in the United States in the year 1798 and was translated to French in the year 1821 and in Spanish in the year 1827. When William Wilberforce introduced the legislation on the anti-slavery into the parliament. He had high hope initially but he was quick to realize that the opposition is going to be fierce. William Wilberforce faced a lot of heat from the different sections of the society. The first opposition came from the business person as they were unwilling to sacrifice their profits, and the financial stakeholder that were associated with the slave trade howled. The sole reason was that the British economy relied heavily on slavery and the slave trade. While another important part is that majority if the elected representatives were unwilling to sacrifice their votes. There were people that claimed that the slavery helped the slaves because it helped the salves to get out of the treacherous condition of Africa. 

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