The Abolitionists-William wilberforce

• In 1780, William Wilberforce was elected to parliament and made many speeches opposing the slave trade which brought great publicity to the cause of the abolition.
• William Wilberforce used evidence gathered by abolitionists to try to persuade Parliament to abolish the African slave trade.
• William Wilberforce campaigned for 18 years by trying to get MPs to accept a Bill against the slave trade in 1789.
• William Wilberforce's campaign for the abolition of the slave trade was not successful in 1789, but he persisted each year until 1792, when a Bill was passed by the House of Commons that said there would be a gradual end to the slave trade.
• In 1807, after a huge campaign, Parliament abolished the slave trade.