Politics - The Uncommon Christians of Clapham During the eighteenth century a group of Christian leaders worked to influence government and change society. They were nicknamed ‘The Clapham Sect’ because most of them lived close to Clapham Common in London. Many were members of Parliament.
Their greatest success was in the abolition of the slave trade.
By the end of the eighteenth century almost a million men, women and children had been brutally crammed into ships and transported from Africa to be sold as slaves in America or the West Indies. Thousands died before the end of the journey and those who survived were treated cruelly on the plantations. Most of this trade was in British ships.
Thomas Clarkson, together with the Clapham group led by William Wilberforce, campaigned across the country and in parliament against slavery. In 1807 the slave trade in British ships was banned. Finally in 1833 slavery in the British Empire was abolished. The Clapham group established and financed the colony of Sierra Leone in Africa as a home for freed slaves. Among their other achievements, the Clapham Christians:
• Campaigned until the cruel ‘sports’ of bear and bull baiting were made illegal.
• Built village schools and paid for the education of poor children.
• Visited prisoners and obtained better conditions for them.
• Sought restrictions on the publication of pornographic books.
• Called for smallpox vaccinations for the people of London.
These Christians from Clapham Common influenced the conscience of the nation by their insistence on the standards taught in the Bible. William Wilberforce was possibly the greatest social reformer of his day. Click Here to find out more
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