Born | 24 August 1759 Kingston upon Hull |
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Died | 29 July 1833 | Age 73 London |
William Wilberforce 1833
Wilberforce was a pioneer in the campaign for the complete abolition of slavery, this was achieved with the Slavery Abolition Act in 1833.The Barbary Corsairs
From before 1500 the Barbary pirates of Africa operated raids of seaside villages in Italy, Spain, France, England, Netherlands even as far north as Iceland, capturing European men, women and children to be used in their slave trade. Some villages like Baltimore, Ireland had to be abandoned following persistent raids. Between 1609 and 1616, England alone had 466 merchant ships lost to Barbary coast pirates.
Captives were forced to convert to Islam. Those who converted to Islam may have seen freedom, since enslavement of Muslims was prohibited.