AMAZING GRACE

William Wilberforce played by Ioan Gruffudd
Harriet Beecher Stowe praised him in the pages of Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Novelist E. M. Forester compared him to Gandhi. Abraham Lincoln invoked his memory in a celebrated speech. In the houses of Parliament, Nelson Mandela recalled his tireless labors on behalf of the sons and daughters of Africa, calling Britain "the land of William Wilberforce—who dared to stand up to demand that the slaves in our country should be freed." The cat in residence at 10 Downing Street between 1973 and 1987 quickly earned a "Wilberforce-ian" reputation for catching mice, and as such was given the name Wilberforce and served under four prime ministers.

William Wilberforce (1759-1833) led the twenty-year fight to end the British slave trade, a victory now regarded as He finally succeeded in March 1807 and continued to fight for abolition until, days before his death in 1833, he saw the institution of slavery abolished throughout the British colonies. Not limiting himself to just abolitionist work, he dedicated his life to what he called his "two great objects:" abolishing slavery in the British Empire and what he called "the reformation of manners [society]." To this end, he advocated for child labor laws, campaigned for education of the blind and deaf, and founded organizations as diverse as the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) and the National Gallery (of Art). "Good causes," it has been said, "stuck to him like pins to a magnet."

Barbara Spooner played by Romola Garai
Barbara Spooner met William Wilberforce on April 15, 1797 when she was 20 and he was 38. After only two weeks of courtship, they were married on May 30. The pair shared their lives for 36 years until Wilberforce's death in 1833 and produced six children. A great proponent of the anti-slavery cause, Barbara supported Wilberforce throughout his fight to abolish slavery.

Olaudah Equiano played by Youssou N'Dour
A central figure in the abolitionist movement in Great Britain, Olaudah Equiano (c.1745–1797) wrote an eyewitness account of his life as a slave and of his work in the anti-slavery movement: The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa the African. Though born in what is now Nigeria, Equiano was kidnapped and sold into slavery in childhood and taken as a slave to the New World. As a slave to a captain in the Royal Navy, and later to a Quaker merchant, he eventually earned the price of his own freedom by careful trading and saving. Equiano, like Wilberforce, stood for more than just abolition. Equiano was an African, a slave, a sailor, an Englishman, an abolitionist, a Christian, a writer. He used his many titles to show how slavery brutalizes society as a whole.

He wrote: "Is not the slave trade entirely a war with the heart of man? Such a tendency has the slave trade to debauch men's minds and harden them to every feeling of humanity! For I will not suppose that the dealers in slaves are born worse than other men…it corrupts the milk of human kindness and turns it into gall. Surely this traffic cannot be good, which spreads like a pestilence and taints what it touches!"

John Newton played by Albert Finney
The legacy of William Wilberforce is tied to his relationship with John Newton. John Newton, an ex-slave trader turned minister and abolitionist, wrote the lyrics for the hymn Amazing Grace and became Wilberforce's spiritual counselor. He set his young protégé on the path of service to humanity. It was only after Wilberforce underwent what he later described as his "great change" or embrace of Christianity, that he became a reformer. Newton knew this to be true, and invoking the deliverance language of the Old Testament Book of Esther, told Wilberforce that it was "for such a time as this" that he had been placed in a position as a powerful Member of Parliament to secure the abolition of the slave trade. It was in the House of Commons, Newton stated, that Wilberforce could best serve God.

William Pitt the Younger

played by Benedict Cumberbatch
Elected as Prime Minister at the age of 24, William Pitt the Younger (1759-1806) can be credited with encouraging Wilberforce to lead the abolitionist movement through political means. In addition to acting as his political ally, Pitt also maintained a close friendship with Wilberforce throughout most of their careers. A brief rift in their friendship occurred in 1793 when France declared war on England. At this point, Pitt fell under the abolitionist movement to focus on the war. Wilberforce, however, disagreed and thought it beneficial to attempt peace with France. The pair reconciled within a few months and remained friends until Pitt's death in 1806, just one year before the slave trade was abolished.

**Exclusive at GSC Midvalley, 1 Utama & Pavillion on 5th June 2008**