While Wilberforce is obviously most remembered for his arduous work against the British slave trade, he also made numerous other vocational and financial contributions to the work of Christ’s kingdom. He volunteered for dozens of societies. For example, he worked for the Church Missionary Society, the British and Foreign Bible Society, the Sunday School Society, the Society for Bettering the Condition of the Poor, and he even helped send missionaries to India and Africa.

William Wilberforce (1759–1833) was the English politician and Christian philanthropist who led the abolition of the British slave trade. Wilberforce was born in Yorkshire, England, but his father died when William was just 8-years-old, so he went to live with his aunt and uncle, Hannah and William. (It may be of interest to the readers of this blog that Wilberforce’s aunt Hannah was the sister of Christian philanthropist John Thornton). Because of the wealth of his parents, he was able to live comfortably even with minimal work.

When he was 21, Wilberforce won the seat in the House of Commons in his hometown, Hull, because of the money he was able to invest and because of his great oratorical skills. This vocational move began 50 years in English politics for Wilberforce. In 1784, he was elected to a much more influential seat in Yorkshire. It wasn’t until he turned 37 that he met and—2 weeks later!—married his wife, Barbara Ann Spooner. In the first eight years of their marriage, they had four sons and two daughters. Wilberforce was devoted to the cause of abolishing the African Slave Trade for the rest of his life.

His Conversion

The aunt and uncle Wilberforce lived with were evangelical Christians. But concerned that her son was “turning Methodist,” his mother sent him to a boarding school. When there he lost interest in Christianity and cared more about being accepted by the social elite. But when he was 25, Wilberforce connected with Isaac Milner, a friend he met in grammar school who had since trusted in Christ. After talking with Milner at length about his hostilities and objections against Christianity, Wilberforce professed faith in Christ.

Read More