William Wilberforce (1759 -1833)
The history of every country has people who have campaigned to changed society. A good example of a person like this is WW. He was a member of parliament from 1780 to 1825. And he organized a campaign in parliament to stop the slave trade and then to free all the slaves in the British Empire. The slave trade was stopped in 1807 and all the slaves were freed the month after his death.
Why should we get inspired by the power of the personality of William Wilberforce? The matter is that in the 18th century slave trade was a legal action. It was normal to buy and sell people. Make them work without paying any money was considered to be a usual act. That was the status quo of those days. The Africans were not thought to be equal to the Europians. The majority of public did not feel sorry of them equalizing them to domestic animals. The Simple ordinary Africans were captured by the developed British and sent in the worst part of ships under the severest conditions to work on the fields of southern part of America. The third of the slaves did not get to the shore, - they died during the journey because of deceases and unbearable conditions, from tortures and violence of the slave traders. William evaluated that to be humiliation and human rights violation. He did believe all people, despite their skin colour and nationality, and background to be equal. So he was not afraid to resist the existing order. He was strong and powerful enough not just to change the system by abolishing the slave trade, but he also managed to change the society in perceiving and comprehension of all the disgrace and humiliation of slave trade.
It took William Wilberforce 20 years to abolish the slavery. (20!) Providing that its immorality and inhumanity had been proved from the very beginning of the campaign. The victory meant William his money, health, safety, reputation and his good relationship with some of his relatives and friends. Just think -20 years of fight!
However, William as a person suffered some negative features. He was so well-witted that was unable to concentrate on one matter. And was disorganized. The condition of his property is usually described as domestic chaos.