Amazing Grace The film Amazing Grace tells the true story of William Wilberforce and his fight in the 1700s to fight the slave trade in England. When most people think of the abolition movement, they think of Abraham Lincoln, and the War Between the States. However, few know of the courageous and exhausting fight of one man end slavery in Britain, and begin a revolution across the globe. Wilberforce was born in 1759, the son of Robert Wilberforce, a wealthy merchant. He was a small delicate child. When Wilberforce was nine his father died and he was sent away to be taken care of by his uncle in London. From there he bounced around to different grammar schools until he was seventeen, when he joined St. Johns College, Cambridge. He became self-sufficient …show more content…
When Wilberforce first became a MP he determined to be an independent, not wishing to choose sides. During 1784-1785 while traveling through Europe with friends Wilberforce underwent a dramatic conversion, which lead him to reevaluate his lifestyle and the choices he was making with his career. The movie Amazing Grace begins with Wilberforce in 1797. After many years of battling to pass a bill to emancipate slaves, Wilberforce is forced to take a long deserved break in order to recover from an unknown illness (probably colitis, otherwise known as Crohn's disease). He stays with his cousin Henry Thorton and his wife Marianne Thorton. The first scene of the movie immediately shows Wilberforce’s kind heart as he convinces two men to cease beating their tired and trodden horse. While Wilberforce is known for his fight against the slave trade, that is not all that he was inspired to defend. Wilberforce with the help of others founded The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, which still exists today. In the movie Henry Thorton and his wife are quick to try to set up Wilberforce with a young woman by the name of Barbara Spooner; however, this not entirely