That campaign led to the Slavery Abolition Act 1833, which abolished slavery in most of the British Empire. In later years, Wilberforce supported the campaign for the complete abolition of slavery and continued his involvement after 1826, when he resigned from Parliament because of his failing health. His underlying conservatism led him to support politically and socially controversial legislation, which resulted in criticism that he was ignoring injustices at home while campaigning for the enslaved abroad. He championed causes and campaigns such as the Society for the Suppression of Vice, British missionary work in India, the creation of a free colony in Sierra Leone, the foundation of the Church Mission Society and the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Wilberforce was convinced of the importance of religion, morality and education. He headed the parliamentary campaign against the British Slave Trade for 20 years until the passage of the Slave Trade Act of 1807. They persuaded Wilberforce to take on the cause of abolition, and he soon became the leading English abolitionist. In 1787, Wilberforce came into contact with Thomas Clarkson and a group of activists against the slave trade, including Granville Sharp, Hannah More and Charles Middleton. In 1785, he became an evangelical Christian, which resulted in major changes to his lifestyle and a lifelong concern for reform. A native of Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, he began his political career in 1780, eventually becoming an independent Member of Parliament (MP) for Yorkshire (1784–1812). William Wilberforce (24 August 1759 – 29 July 1833) was a British politician, philanthropist and leader of the movement to abolish the slave trade.

A practical view william wilberforce