How the Captain of a Slave Ship Became a Witness

In 1787, a young man named John Newton wrote a pamphlet that would help ignite the British abolition movement. But Newton was no outsider to the slave trade — he had been captain of a slave ship called the Duke of Argyle. His conversion to Christianity and his eventual public confession became a powerful weapon in the hands of campaigners like Granville Sharp and Thomas Clarkson. This episode traces Newton's journey from slave trader to repentant minister, examines the contradictions of his legacy, and reveals how his testimony — along with a series of horrific massacres on slave ships — began to turn the tide of public opinion. We'll look at the Zong case, the rise of the Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade, and the Parliamentary inquiry that Newton testified to, all of which paved the way for the 1807 Abolition Act. It's a story of moral awakening, but also of how one man's guilt helped expose an empire's shame. #JohnNewton #SlaveTrade #Abolition #DukeOfArgyle #ZongMassacre #GranvilleSharp #ThomasClarkson #1807Abolition #AmazingGrace #Britain #18thCentury #MiddlePassage #History #FexingoHistory #Slavery #Repentance #Testimony #Parliament Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo