When Thousands of Rams Were Not Enough

In 1787, William Wilberforce sat in the garden of his estate at Holwood House in Kent, wrestling with a question that would define his life. He was a wealthy member of Parliament, a man who could have funded grand cathedrals or endowed a thousand religious charities. England's churches were full on Sundays. Hymns rose from every parish. Yet across the Atlantic, British ships carried human beings in chains below their decks, and respectable Christians profited from every voyage.…