Stamps celebrate the anti-slave movement

Published on Friday 23 March 2007 00:05

A FORMER slave who brought the plight of kidnapped Africans to the masses in 18th century Britain appears on a commemorative first-class stamp issued yesterday.

Olaudah Equiano drove home the horrors of slavery with his widely-circulated autobiography. He is one of several individuals to appear on a set of six stamps issued to mark 200 years since the abolition of the slave trade.

The stamps combine contemporary portraits of key individuals from the abolition movement set against backgrounds linked to their work.

The second first-class stamp features William Wilberforce, MP for Hull and parliamentary leader of the abolitionist movement.

More than three million Africans were shipped across the Atlantic during the 18th century in a trade dominated by Britain.

Opposition to the trade grew during the second half of the 18th century and culminated in the 1807 Abolition of the Slave Trade Act.

Other stamps will feature the first chairman of the abolitionists Granville Sharpe (50p), campaigner Thomas Clarkson (50p), writer Hannah More (72p) and trader Ignatius Sancho (72p).

Julietta Edgar, of Royal Mail, said: "The stamps will be seen by millions of people around the world and, I hope, make a fitting tribute to the men and women who dedicated their lives to bringing slavery to an end."