William Wilberforce - The Great Debate

"Slavery should be abolished" will be one of the arguments that Yorkshire pupils will hear at the Great Slavery debate to be held in Hull's Guildhall on 17th October 2006.

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News & Politics

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• wilberforce
• slavery
• slaves
• freetown
• hull
• sierra
• leone
• africa
• cafesociety

[underdog92z]

God Bless William Wilberforce

[ItsJoeyhere]

A filthy opportunist? He campaigned his entire life for the end of slavery. While most of the country profited from transatlantic slavery economically he still fought for change. He even prevented his daughter from marrying into a wealthy family on the sole grounds that the family had some buisness ties to sugar produce in america.

[javie2]

@TheSoundjataKeita It takes research, objectivity and common sense. This is not a political debate. These are facts and it's just how the world works. The people who can make historical changes in any historical event are usually the people in positions of power. And that happens today as it happened 5,000 years ago. It's called reality.

[TheSoundjataKeita]

@javie2, And from Uruguay you think you can teach me that part of my History ? lol

[javie2]

@TheSoundjataKeita Your knowledge of history is Zero so stop making a fool of yourself. You might hate it but The abolition of the slave trade, thanks to Wilberforce, was the turning point for the end of slavery.Wilberforce had the clout, the network, and the personal conviction to make a social change on his time putting on the line his social position and wealth. So his accomplishment far suspasses to anything done by the people you mentioned.

[TheSoundjataKeita]

@thebestnameeverever,the only persons that deserve the credit for the abolition of this non sense are these enslaved freedom fighters Africans,who better than them were more concerned about their own freedom?They fought not because economically speaking slavery was bad or non profitable,they fought because it's a crime against humanity to put people in slavery, period,I praise King Amador, Dessalines, Nat Turner, Mrs Tubman, and all these illustrious unknown by History, no Wilberforce there !

[thebestnameeverever]

@TheSoundjataKeita Granted you make valid points. These theories have truth inthem. After all if you listen Pitt or Wilberforce's speeches in parliament they major on economic reasons for Abolition. However I think its equally wrong to suggest that the majority believed this viewpoint during the debates.Britain, after Beligium (who were only small in the slave trade) were the second nation to Abolish it. The Abolitionists should be given credit, for they stood up against the majority at the time

[TheSoundjataKeita]

@thebestnameeverever 3.) Commerce was more profitable (less risk) than slavery, G-B was the super power in the world so they didn't want to see other nations outshined them (specially France) they patrolled in the high waters to make sure this business stoped. It was more profitable and less risky do business (sell them sh..t) with Africans than to take them out Africa, slavery became Colonization. Please read: Klah Popo (Histoire des traites Negrières).

[TheSoundjataKeita]

@thebestnameeverever 2.) In economy a whole field can died because it's no longer profitable as It's supposed to be, risk of revolts of slaves in England and in the plantations, difficulties for the slaveships and their crews to get some new slaves. The profit in economic is always related to the risk, if the risk is too high whatever the profit that business will died slowly, the profit is a function of the risk.In the island free labor was much cheaper than slavery in the long term...

[TheSoundjataKeita]

@thebestnameeverever, 1.) It's not because Dr Williams theory is not "generally" accepted it does worth nothing. Knowing how europeans have manipulated History for their glory for years now I'd be surprised if your "Modern Historians" said something different.To understand the economic side of the Slavery system you need tools and knowledge in economics otherwise it's just ideology, and in this field it's a "I say - You say" thing !

[thebestnameeverever]

@TheSoundjataKeita

You realise that Eric Williams' theories are not generally accepted by most modern historians. As a history student who has studied this subject, modern historians agree that Wilberforce is overly emphasised by his contempories, but equally, most disregard Williams' thesis as an unconvincing argument. Many in fact have argued the slave trade was at its most productive during the campaign for Abolition. To disregard the abolitionists proves a lack of understanding on your part