William Wilberforce (1759-1833)

Parliamentarian and Vice-President of CMS

William Wilberforce, from Hull, UK, was a member of the British Parliament and is best remembered for his role in bringing to an end the trade in slaves within the British empire. A close friend of Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger, Wilberforce's commitment to ending the slave trade grew out of his Christian faith and his understanding that all women and men are children of God. The Slave Trade Act was passed in 1807.

Releasing slaves from their iron shackles was not enough for William. He also wanted them to experience the true freedom of knowing God’s love for us. This led him to cooperate with a group of Evangelicals called the Clapham Sect who in 1799 proposed the founding of a missionary society for Africa and the East. This society, later known as the Church Mission Society (CMS), first began its work amongst released slaves in West Africa.

William was invited to be the first President of CMS but declined, because of the pressure of other work, taking up the role of Vice-President instead. In that role he served as a benefactor and active adviser for the work of the new society.

Three months after CMS was founded Wilberforce, together with John Venn and Charles Grant, delivered a letter to the Archbishop of Canterbury seeking recognition of this "attempt to extend the benefits of Christianity" thus beginning this relationship between a new mission movement and the authorities of the Anglican Church.

William Wilberforce continued his political career until 1825 and died in 1833. He is buried in Westminster Abbey, London, close to his friend William Pitt.

Wilberforce the Evangelical

A supporter of the evangelical wing of the Church of England, Wilberforce believed that the revitalisation of the Church and individual Christian observance would lead to a harmonious, moral society. He wished to elevate the status of religion in public and private life, making piety fashionable in middle and upper classes of society. In April 1797 Wilberforce completed A Practical View of the Prevailing Religious System of Professed Christians in the Higher and Middle Classes of This Country Contrasted With Real Christianity, on which he had been working since 1793. This was an exposition of New Testament doctrine and teachings and a call for a revival of Christianity, as a response to the moral decline of the nation. It was an influential work and illustrated his own personal testimony and the views which inspired him.

Wilberforce believed in the importance of missionary activity and, as well as being a founding member of the Church Mission Society, he used the renewal of the British East India Company's charter to propose the addition of clauses requiring the company to provide teachers and chaplains and to commit to the "religious improvement" of Indians.