The following student report was submitted by Ambassador League Agent David H. during the 2008-2009 League.
Mission: Reading - Book Report on God's Politician: William Wilberforce's Struggle by Garth Lean
God's Politician by Garth Lean is a biography about William Wilberforce, a British politician, philanthropist and leader of the movement to abolish the slave trade in England throughout the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
On August 24, 1759, William Wilberforce was born in the northeastern town of Hull England to Robert and Elizabeth Wilberforce. He was a small, sickly and delicate child, with poor eyesight. At the age of eight he began attending school. For a year he was taught by the young and dynamic headmaster, Joseph Milner at Hull Grammar School.
Upon the death of his father in 1768, the nine-year-old Wilberforce was sent to a prosperous uncle and aunt. He attended an "indifferent" boarding school in Putney for two years. Young William spent holidays with relatives who became fond of him. Thanks to their influence, he became interested in evangelical Christianity.
The death of Wilberforce's grandfather and uncle left him independently wealthy. William had little inclination or need to apply himself to serious study at St. John College, Cambridge. Despite his interest in evangelical Christianity, Wilberforce engaged in the social round of student life, and pursued a hedonistic lifestyle enjoying cards, gambling and late-night drinking sessions.
Meanwhile he became increasing popular and gained the friendship of the more studious William Pitt, the young, future British prime minister. Through a series of events, Wilberforce was elected to Parliament at age 21, and his political career began.
In February 1785 a "great change" began to transform William's life. He started to rise early to read the Bible and pray and kept a private journal. Wilberforce underwent an evangelical conversion, regretting his past behavior and resolving to commit his future life and work to the service of God.
Seeking a destiny, Wilberforce was encouraged by Pitt to make notice of a motion on the subject of slave trade. Summing up his growing commitment he wrote, "God Almighty, has set before me two great objects: the suppression of the slave trade and the reformation of manners." God had sent Wilberforce into the political arena at precisely the right time. He thus set out to reform England and fight for abolition of the Trade.
There were successful legislative efforts to help turn around the degeneracy of British society. Abolition, however, hit tougher ground. Because of the controversary around this issue, Wilberforce was hated and beloved at the same time throughout England. After years of struggles, William Wilberforce with tears streaming down his checks, watched as the Slave Trade Act of 1807 passed through the House of Commons by a vote of 283 to 16. The act abolished the slave trade in the British Empire, but not slavery itself; that had to wait for the Slavery Abolition Act 1833.
God's Politician was written with an unusual style. At times the book jumped around through Wilberforce's life instead of following a chronological order. Author Garth Lean however did an excellent job of researching and presenting the facts in an understandable manner. The volume provides a deep insight of the challenges that Wilberforce faced in 19th century England and is a great reminder of how one faithful person can make a tremendous difference.
