William Wilberforce and the Promise That Outlasted Reason

In 1787, William Wilberforce stood before the British Parliament and declared that the slave trade must end. He was twenty-seven years old, physically frail, and nearly blind in one eye. The merchants of Liverpool and Bristol controlled enormous wealth. The Royal Navy depended on experienced sailors trained on slave ships. Every practical calculation said his cause was hopeless. He lost his first abolition vote in 1791.…