Amazing Grace, the Film

The new inspirational film Amazing Grace is about the long battle to abolish slavery in England. William Wilberforce, a British parliamentarian, repeatedly introduced bills against the slave trade, and for 20 years, Parliament voted down all but the mildest reforms. Finally, in 1807, Parliament abolished the slave trade by an overwhelming vote. In 1833, as Wilberforce lay dying, slavery was abolished throughout the empire--46 years after the battle was begun.

The movie gets its name from Wilberforce's friendship with John Newton, the author of the hymn "Amazing Grace" and a former slave trader who helped Wilberforce to abolish the trade.

If you would like to read more about slavery in England, please check out the books listed below.
You can also find many recordings of the hymn in the Library’s collection.

Bury the Chains: Prophets and Rebels in the Fight to Free an Empire’s Slaves
Adam Hochschild (2005)

Hero for Humanity: a Biography of William Wilberforce
Kevin Belmonte (2002)

The Queen’s Slave Traders: John Hawkins, Elizabeth I, and the Trafficking in Human Souls
Nick Hazlewood (2004)

Rough Crossings: Britain, the Slaves, and the American Revolution
Simon Schama (2006)

The Two Princes of Calabar: an Eighteenth-Century Atlantic Odyssey
Randy Sparks (2004)

Though the Heavens May Fall: the Landmark Trial that Led to the End of Human Slavery

Steven Wise (2005)