William Wilberforce Shorts
Description: British Empire - William Wilberforce was a British politician, philanthropist, and a leader of the movement to abolish the Atlantic slave trade. A native of Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, he began his political career in 1780, and became an independent Member of Parliament for Yorkshire. He became a leading English abolitionist. He headed the parliamentary campaign against the British slave trade for 20 years until the passage of the Slave Trade Act 1807.
Description: West Africa Squadron was formed in 1808 after the British Parliament passed the Slave Trade Act 1807. It was based out of Portsmouth, England, at substantial expense, and it remained an independent command until 1856 and then again from 1866 to 1867. The squadron's task was to suppress the Atlantic slave trade by patrolling the coast of West Africa.
