Chapter 9

Chapter 9 of Bury the Chains starts off with William Wilberforce. He was the key factor in the movement's success. They already had support, and a petition but they needed a voice in the House of Commons to campaign for their movement. By recruiting Wilberforce they now were able to bring passion and eloquence to speeches that would gain even more Briton support. The movement began to spread across boarders, reaching out to the Kings of Sweden, Spain, and the governments of France, Portugal and across the ocean to the United States. In a short period of time it grew to include 39 countries. Later on in the chapter Hochschild went on to describe John Newton's actions in the abolitionist movement. He wrote Thoughts Upon the African Slave Trade which was a confession and apology of  his trade. After talking a little bit about how Newton contributed, he goes on to note that free blacks, such as Cugoano, began to speak out around London also. Telling their stories and voicing their opinions about abolition and freedom. To conclude Hochschild gives the reader the facts about why it took so long to pass the bill in Parliament, because of King George III's illness. 

The chapter didn't strike me as very interesting, but it was good to see how the movement actually became so large and gained so much support. The author went through the time line very efficiently and linked all of the people and information together well. It was easy to follow and interesting to see the growth of the movement.