Was William Wilberforce the Most Important Reason for the Abolition of the Slave Trade in 1807 and Slavery in 1823

William Wilberforce is the name that most populate in Britain immediately associate with the fight against knuckle downry. Although he favoured a more(prenominal) cautious and gradual eradication of thraldom, he was a key exemplar of the anti- buckle down plow forces. Gracious, witty, and devoutly religious. Wilberforce has become a convenient national hero, with 20,000 community attending a ceremony to mark the 100th anniversary of his death. His rear has been turned into a museum and his larger-than-life statue has a prominent place in wattminster Abbey. This demonstrates that he had a big operate on the people slightly him at the time.Wilberforce certainly deserves some credit for the banning of the British break ones back trade in 1807 and the act that e homosexualcipated Britains slaves that was fin aloney passed in 1833. His charm, ain kindness, re moveation for integrity and deep conservatism on most issues gave him influence with his fellow MPs that few others in parliament had. But was the abolishment of the slave trade and bondage primarily the work of this likeable, saintly man and his circle of similarly religious friends? Today, most historians see the long engagement to end the slave trade as much more mixed and unruly than simply being the work of Wilberforce alone.Many people play an important part of the abolition of bondage the white middle disunite fly the coopers. Granville frizzly was a great campaigner against sla precise. He in like mannerk in a naughtinessly beaten slave and nursed him until he was fit and wholesome but then his old master saw him and captured him wear he was to be shipped away to Jamaica as a slave. Granville Sharp took the slaves master to judgeship and the judge the Lord Mayor of London said that he had non stolen anything so shouldnt be made to go away. Sharp fought for galore(postnominal) black people in court and saved many of them. Sharp didnt manage to get slavery abolished but he start ed the campaign against slavery.His court cases get aheadd a lot of aw areness in the frequent eyes and this could have made some people see how bad slavery really was so they could start to campaign against slavery with Granville Sharp. It was non only the white middle class campaigners who assay to abolish slavery the working class campaigned. In 1788 many petitions were sent to parliament demanding that the slave trade should be stopped. The petitions were sent from working class people from all over Britain. In the year 1788 10,000 working class people sign a petition in 1792 support doubled to 20,000 people ( in that location are 75,000 people in Manchester.The working class people sentiment that slavery was wrong as it was a trade of human blood and that when Negroes were put in slavery it took away thither dignity and pride, excessively they thought it was cruel to take them from there home (many slave campaigners rich or poor felt the same way). Big meetings were held wear slave campaigners could supersede ideas on how to get slavery abolished. In 1807 when the slave trade was at last abolished the petitions did not stop there aim was to make slavery misbranded and also they wanted the existing slaves still in slavery to be freed.I think the working class people did not raise as much awareness in the public than the middle-class they saturated mostly on Parliament and the MPs. Black people also rebelled against the slave trade. They wanted to be treated like normal servants and to soak up a wage for there work. Many black people refused to be slaves and ran away. When slave owners went to court to get them gumption the legal position of slavery in Britain wasnt clear. People knew that slaves could be kept in the West Indies and other parts of the British Empire, but if a slave was brought back to Britain (there was no law to say slavery was illegal or legal).When slaves essay to claim there freedom the judges made different decisions both time. Granville Sharp held many of these cases on behalf of the slaves and soon most slaves were being behave free. Owners soon knew it wasnt worth the bother of trying to get there slaves against there slaves back. Plantation owners in the island of St Dominque did not like the idea of slaves having qualified rights and liberty so they planned an alliance with Britain. The slaves knew this would mean the slave trade would continue.The conditions in the St Dominque were worse than in the West Indies, the death rate was very high from the treatment and there living conditions. So in 1791 the slaves rebelled murdering there white owners and setting fire to the sugar crop. British troops tried to take over but the slaves soon overturned the British as well. Slavery was abolished in 1804 and the island soon declared that it was an independent state with a new name of Haiti. In the West Indian plantation owners lived in dread of the ideas from the slaves in Haiti spreading to there sl aves. People in Britain who did not ant slavery to be banned used this example of what would pass along if slaves in Britain were given equal rights. The slave trade eventually became too uneconomical to continue, this is because when the slaves were travelling on boat, the conditions were too horrific. As a allow more of the slaves died than actually made it to the other side. This one the major factors of wherefore the slave trade ended. William Wilberforce helped was a key campaigner for the abolition of the slave trade, but he is amongst many other campaigners. They all did the same thing, so I believe that he was important but many others deserve the same credit that he got.