1833 and... William Wilberforce

This morning in assembly Mr Dixon began our series on '1833 and...' as part of our anniversary celebrations. His talk is below:

1833 AND.... WLLIAM WILBERFORCE

Anniversaries mean more to some people than others. For example, tomorrow is the 359" anniversary of the execution of King Charles I. Now that matters to me, as I am a member of the Society of King Charles the Martyr. I appreciate that it may not mean a great deal to you. Perhaps the 67th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz last Sunday will resonate more. Some of us will be visiting that place on Easter Monday.

Now, when you first learned that we are to celebrate the 175th anniversary of the founding of Merchiston Castle school this year, the more historically-minded amongst you may have wondered if there was anything else of importance that occurred in 1833. Which is not to play down the significance of our own birth-day, of course, and indeed the founding of King William's College, on the Isle of Man that same year; but even a teacher - even a Headmaster - will allow that some things may matter more than even the most prestigious of educational institutions. Oh, and since a reference to sport is obligatory from this stage, allow me to observe that the Rugby Football Union was not founded for another 38 years.

Some of my colleagues and I thought we would share with you the fruits of our research into '1833 and all that' over the next few Tuesday mornings. And it falls to me to give you something of the historical-political background.

You will have guessed from my reference to our virtual twin across the water that the King in that year was William IV. There is not a great deal to say about William; he was the third son of George III and since he never expected to inherit the throne he made a career in the navy. He had no legitimate children so he was later succeeded by his niece, Victoria. He did have several illegitimate children by his mistress, and apparently David Cameron is descended from one of them ... anyway, enough genealogical gossip.

So, from Tories to Liberals. The Prime Minister that year was Earl Grey. Again, not all that distinguished in political history, but of immense significance in the world of tea-drinking. A much more notable Prime Minister of the nineteenth century, William Gladstone, made his maiden speech in the House of Commons in 1833; he was defending the business interests of his father and the other plantation owners in the West Indies. More of that shortly.

1832 was actually the big year politically that decade - perhaps the biggest year in the first half of the century, since it was then that the Great Reform Act gave the vote to many of the middle class for the first time, Britain's first move towards Democracy. But 1833 does deserve to be remembered, especially in our modern, multi-ethnic society, because an Act of Parliament passed on 29th August ordered that slavery was finally to be abolished throughout the British Empire.

You may have thought that last year was the anniversary of all that, but 2007 was the bicentenary of the ban on the slave trade. Estimates of how many Africans were enslaved and transported to the New World are still hotly disputed, but the total figure may have been about 12 million, of whom 10 or even 20% died en route.

The British ban on the slave trade, which they also attempted to enforce on other nations, ended the misery of the so-called 'middle passage' from Africa to the Americas, journeys made in appalling, insanitary conditions by Africans chained closely together. Sadly, however, this legislation, crucial though it was, made little difference to the men, women and children who were already enslaved on the plantations in the West Indies and elsewhere. In the quarter century between 1807 and 1833 there were several major slave uprisings in the Caribbean, with considerable bloodshed. The treatment of slaves on some plantations was as bad as it had ever been, so we should not exaggerate the benefit of that earlier law. Equally, the 1833 Act was not an immediate relief to the enslaved, as it only came into force at the beginning of 1834, and even then all slaves over 6 years old were obliged to stay with their former masters, as so-called 'apprentices', for another four years. It is also fair to say that there were few alternative sources of employment in the Caribbean and life on the sugar plantations for the newly 'free' employees was barely improved in terms of day-to-day conditions. Then again, we should not under-estimate how precious is a person's legal and moral freedom. And it was only a couple of weeks ago that our Mr Blair invited us to think about the importance of freedom in our daily lives and also what it really means to us spiritually.

Arguably the Briton most responsible for both pieces of anti-slavery legislation was the Tory MP William Wilberforce. It is possible that you have seen the film 'Amazing Grace', which gave the Hollywood treatment to this great character. Many others played a part in the long campaign, including many former slaves, but Wilberforce was their leader in Parliament and it was here that the most important battle was fought. Sadly, 1833 marks the anniversary of Wilberforce's death, just a month before the Act was passed.

On Sunday 28 October 1787, the 28 year old William Wilberforce wrote in his diary:

"God Almighty has set before me two great objects, the suppression of the slave trade and the Reformation of society. "

Unlike most of what we write in diaries, he really meant it, and his life was dedicated to these causes. Wilberforce had little personal knowledge of slavery and the slave trade, but he had been converted to an evangelical brand of Protestantism and he was driven by his conscience and his Christian faith to oppose slavery as a moral injustice. He campaigned against it for 45 years even though it conflicted with the views and interests of most of his friends and colleagues in the Commons.

The abolition of slavery was not his only mission. Wilberforce campaigned to increase the literacy of children and to improve hygiene for the poor. Amongst his religious causes was the attempt to promote a better observance of the Sunday Sabbath. Wilberforce was even an animal-loving, leading figure in the RSPCA.

Wilberforce's life was a life well lived.

I wonder whether Mr Chalmers ever held Wilberforce up as an example to the first Merchiston boys in Merchiston Tower (pictured left). I would certainly invite you to take him as one of your models for the development of your own character and philosophy.

Next story in this series - 1833 & Charles Babbage