Thomas clarkson and william wilberforce
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Thomas Clarkson
English abolitionist (1760–1846)
For other people named Thomas Clarkson, see Thomas Clarkson (disambiguation).
Thomas Clarkson (28 March 1760 – 26 September 1846) was an English abolitionist, and a leading campaigner against the slave trade in the British Empire. He helped found the Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade (also known as the Society for the Abolition of the Slave Trade) and helped achieve övergång of the Slave Trade Act 1807, which ended British trade in slaves.
He became a pacifist in 1816 and, with his brother John, was among the twelve founders of the Society for the Promotion of Permanent and Universal Peace.[1][2]
In his later years, Clarkson campaigned for the abolition of slavery worldwide. In 1840, he was the key speaker at the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society's first convention in London which campaigned to end slavery in other countries.
Early life and education
[edit]Clarkson was the
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William Wilberforce
English politician and abolitionist (1759–1833)
For his eldest son, a lawyer and Member of Parliament, see William Wilberforce (1798–1879).
William Wilberforce (24 August 1759 – 29 July 1833) was a British politician, philanthropist, and a leader of the movement to abolish the slave trade. A native of Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, he began his political career in 1780, and became an independentMember of Parliament (MP) for Yorkshire (1784–1812). In 1785, he underwent a conversion experience and became an Evangelical Anglican, which resulted in major changes to his lifestyle and a lifelong concern for reform.
In 1787, Wilberforce came into contact with Thomas Clarkson and a group of activists against the slave trade, including Granville Sharp, Hannah More and Charles Middleton. They persuaded Wilberforce to take on the cause of abolition, and he became a leading English abolitionist. He headed the parliamentary campaign against the British slave trade fo
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Thomas Clarkson (1760-1846)
Portrait of Thomas Clarkson ©Clarkson was a leading campaigner against the slave trade and slavery in Britain and the British empire.
Thomas Clarkson was born on 28 March 1760 in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire. He was the son of a clergyman who also taught at the local grammar school. In 1779, Clarkson went to Cambridge University where he won a Latin essay competition on the subject of whether it was lawful to make slaves of others against their will.
While travelling from Cambridge to London in June 1785, Clarkson found himself thinking not about the competition, nor about the promising church career awaiting him, but about slavery. He got off his horse and sat down by the roadside at Wadesmill in Hertfordshire, feeling that someone should do something about this evil. Ending slavery became his driving passion for the remaining 61 years of his life. He translated his prize-winning essay into English and it was published in 1786. The essay attracted