As 2007 is the year which commemorates the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the slave trade in the British empire, it would be remiss of me not to mention William Wilberforce, the parliamentary campaigner who laboured tirelessly for his entire life to bring this to pass. William Wilberforce was an Evangelical Christian, and it was his faith which gave him the moral and spiritual energy to pursue this cause until he achieved success in this matter. He was also a friend of John Newton, the converted slave trader, who wrote a good many hymns, including "Amazing Grace".
