Thomas Clarkson was one of the leading fighters in the long struggle to abolish the transatlantic slave trade and slavery. Born in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire in 1760, a career in teaching or the ministry seemed destined, as his father, the Revd John Clarkson, was both a clergyman and headmaster. And it appeared that young Clarkson would opt for the clergy after being ordained as a deacon following his graduation from St John’s College, Cambridge in 1783. Clarkson’s life was to change when he won a Cambridge University essay prize in 1785 with the paper ‘Is it licit to make slaves of others against their will?’ The essay, which was originally written in Latin, was influenced by the American thinker Anthony Benezet, and increased Clarkson's hunger to find out more about the slave trade. The essay was subsequently translated into English and became an immediate bestseller when published.

© Anti-Slavery International

The other transformation occurred when he experienced a divine revelation while travelling down to London on horseback. His experience that afternoon resulted in a lifelong commitment to oppose slavery instead of a career in the clergy. He immediately made contact with the noted abolitionists such as Granville Sharp and became part of the Society for the Abolition of the Slave Trade which was established in May 1787. This Quaker dominated group of a dozen men was the initial caucus against the slave trade and as its chief researcher, Clarkson was responsible for gathering evidence about the brutality of the slave trade. It has been suggested that he interviewed over 20,000 sailors in Bristol, Liverpool and other seaports and his diagram of the slave ship Brookes, is still one of the most enduring images of the slave trade.

Clarkson’s evidence was subsequently passed on to William Wilberforce via the Abolition Committee. Equally, he published a great deal of material in his own right on the horrors of the slave trade. He found himself at odds with many of his fellow abolitionist over the French Revolution. Clarkson believed that its ideas of liberty, equality and fraternity were in keeping with those of abolitionist movement and he visited France on several occasions to build alliances and garner support.

Unfortunately, the years of unwavering commitment to the anti-slavery cause took its toll on Clarkson’s health. In the early 1790s, ill health forced him to temporarily retire from the campaign – a layoff that lasted nearly a decade. This occurred while Britain began a protracted war with France which stymied the abolitionists’ cause. He returned to the fray in the early years of the next century and continued to gather evidence. This coincided with two Wilberforce Abolition Bills (1804/5) which were defeated. The House of Lords at the time had many pro-slave trade supporters.

A change of Government (Whig for Tory) and the victory at Trafalgar in 1805 which put an end to a possible French invasion, were the catalysts for the Bill being passed in 1807. Akin, to Wilberforce, Clarkson became a celebrated figure; the great poet William Wordsworth wrote the Sonnet to Thomas Clarkson in recognition of the passing of the Bill and Clarkson’s involvement. Clarkson’s own response to the Act of Parliament was to write a book about the history of the abolition of the Slave Trade Act.

Clarkson then turned his attention to the abolition of transatlantic slavery and was joined by younger figures such as the parliamentarian Thomas Fowell Buxton. However, ill health (his failing eyesight) and advancing years saw him take a back seat in the movement. He was infirm when the Emancipation Bill was passed in 1833 and retired to Ipswich where he lived until his death in 1846.

History has not been good to Clarkson. His spat with Wilberforce was undignified and not worthy of the great men. Moreover, it is poignant that a man who was once one of the most celebrated figures in Britain during the early part of the 19th century is almost unknown today. Similarly, it is ironic that there is no entry for him in The Cambridge Encyclopaedia, an almanac with links to his university Alma Mater!