In 1833 Thomas Fowell Buxton, the parliamentary successor to William Wilberforce, proposed a toast to ‘the anti-slavery tutor of us all – Mr Macaulay’. Yet Zachary Macaulay's considerable contribution to the ending of slavery in the British Empire has received scant recognition by historians. This book focuses on Macaulay's involvement with slavery and anti-slavery but also examines the people and events that influenced him. It traces his Scottish roots and his torrid account of years as a young overseer on a Jamaican plantation. Macaulay's accidental stumbling into the anti-slavery circle thr ... More

In 1833 Thomas Fowell Buxton, the parliamentary successor to William Wilberforce, proposed a toast to ‘the anti-slavery tutor of us all – Mr Macaulay’. Yet Zachary Macaulay's considerable contribution to the ending of slavery in the British Empire has received scant recognition by historians. This book focuses on Macaulay's involvement with slavery and anti-slavery but also examines the people and events that influenced him. It traces his Scottish roots and his torrid account of years as a young overseer on a Jamaican plantation. Macaulay's accidental stumbling into the anti-slavery circle through a family marriage led to formative years in the government of the free colony of Sierra Leone dealing with settlers, slave traders, local chiefs and a French invasion. His return to Britain in 1799 began nearly forty years of campaigning to get rid of what he described as ‘this foul stain on the nation’. James Stephen rated Macaulay as the most feared and hated foe of slave interests. Macaulay's weaknesses and failures are explored alongside his unswerving commitment to the cause to which he gave his energy and sacrificed his business interests, and which he saw as a natural result of his strong religious faith. This book is the result of extensive research of Macaulay's own prolific writings and seeks to illustrate the man behind them, his passions and his prejudices, his steely resolve and his personal shyness and, above all, his willingness to work unremittingly in the background, generating the power to drive the engine of anti-slavery to victory.