by Stephen Tomkins

'It is the true duty of every man to promote the happiness of his fellow creatures to the utmost of his power.’ William Wilberforce

In the 1780s, 40,000 slaves a year were taken from Africa in British ships, on the notorious ‘Middle Passage’, to the Caribbean. In 1787, under an oak tree in Kent, the prime minister William Pitt invited his friend William Wilberforce to bring a bill outlawing the slave trade. Neither of them imagined a twenty-year political campaign, which consumed the rest of Wilberforce’s life and finally led the slaves to sing, ‘Oh, me good friend, Mr Wilberforce, make we free! God Almighty thank ye!’

Born in Hull to wealthy middle-class parents, Wilberforce entered parliament and became a political celebrity of his day. During the 1782s, he underwent a profound Christian conversion and set out on the path of service to humanity. Tomkins charts his battle to end the slave trade, portraying a man of contradictions and extraordinary determination.

Drawing extensively on eyewitness testimonies about slavery and the slave trade, and written in a lively and engaging style, this book transports the reader back to a dramatic age of conflict and upheaval. It brings Wilberforce and an extensive cast of colourful characters vividly to life.

• Paperback
• 238 pages
• ISBN: 9780745952321