Bicentenary of the Abolition of the Slave Trade

Yes, the Clapham sect is one of the most extraordinary evangelical and reforming groups of people ever in the history of our country, and what was preached by John Venn at the church in Clapham was very important in influencing its work. I was recalling the moment in 1807 when the Bill to abolish the slave trade received its Second Reading. It received Royal Assent on 25 March, which is why we shall commemorate these matters this coming Sunday—that is when the Bill to abolish the slave trade became an Act. I went to the House of Lords archive room to look at the document. It states:"““Be it therefore enacted by the King’s most Excellent Majesty…That from and after the First Day of May One thousand eight hundred and seven, the African Slave Trade, and all manner of dealing and trading in the Purchase, Sale, Barter, or Transfer of Slaves, or of Persons intended to be sold, transferred, used, or dealt with as Slaves, practiced or carried on, in, at, to or from any Part of the Coast or Countries of Africa, shall be…utterly abolished, prohibited, and declared to be unlawful””." With those words, the behaviour of an empire was changed forever. Today we are remembering—