The MP who played a pivotal role in the abolition of slavery in the British Empire was born in England in 1759.

The son of a wealthy merchant, he became an MP for Hull, a city on the east cost of England, at the age of 21, before emerging as parliamentary spokesman for the abolitionist movement in the late 18th century.

His strident opposition to the slave trade — against the opinion of many peers but driven by a strong belief in moral duty and Christianity — was formed when a friend took him to see a slave ship in Liverpool.

The anti-slave cause was boosted by Wilberforce’s powerful speeches and gift for oratory, although the trailblazing MP was greatly helped and influenced by campaigners including Thomas Clarkson, Granville Sharp and Olaudah Equiano.

Wilberforce made his first speech in the House of Commons in 1789, in which he condemned the trade as morally reprehensible and detailed the appalling conditions in which slaves were transported from Africa.

With the abolitionist cause generating mass public support, the Abolition of Slavery Bill was passed in 1807. This finally abolished the trade but did not free those who were already slaves.

Wilberforce died in 1833 — and four months after the social reformer passed away slavery was abolished in the British colonies. A statue of him was erected in Westminster Abbey in 1840. A film about the life of Wilberforce and his struggle against slavery is due to be released to coincide with the 200th anniversary of the date the UK Parliament voted to ban the transportation of slaves by British subjects.