Thomas Fowell Buxton

Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton (1786–1845) was a committed social reformer throughout his life and became involved with the abolition of slavery during his time as an MP, taking over the leadership of the abolition movement in the British House of Commons after William Wilberforce retired in 1825. Following the abolition of slavery in Britain and its colonies in 1833, and his loss of his Parliamentary seat in 1837, Buxton concerned himself with the slave trade along the African coast still perpetrated by Africans, Arabs and the Portuguese. The results of his research and conclusions were originally published in 1839, and demonstrate the extent to which slave trading still existed, and its human cost in mortality and misery, despite attempts at policing by the British navy. Buxton explores the theory that the key to complete abolition is a change in market economics to eliminate the need for African slave labour.

Thomas Fowell Buxton, M. P. (1786–1845) was a philanthropist who had many connections with the Quaker movement through the family of his wife, who was the sister of Henry Gurney and Elizabeth Fry. He was a passionate opponent of slavery, and campaigned to end it at a time when most British people believed that enough had been done by the abolition of British slave trading in 1807. The Remedy, first published in 1840, called on the government to do more to assist African development, so that African chiefs' participation in the trade would be reduced. Many African rulers believed that slavery was their only economic resource, but Buxton argued that this was false, and that, with training in agriculture and commerce, the available workforce could improve the economy of Africa without slavery. He also advocated greater use of the navy to patrol the coasts of Africa to drive off slavers.

Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton (1786–1845) was a noted social reformer and one of the leading members of the campaign to abolish slavery. Buxton had family connections to the Quakers and became an associate of Elizabeth Fry in campaigning for prison reform. He was elected an MP in 1818 and from 1825 he became the leader of the abolitionist movement in Parliament following William Wilberforce's retirement from politics. This biography, compiled by his son Charles Buxton and first published in 1848, provides an intimate and detailed account of Buxton's character and involvement with social reform and the abolition movement, culminating in the 1833 Slavery Abolition Act. The inclusion of Buxton's letters to family, friends and colleagues provides valuable insights into his character and his thoughts on the progress of the abolition movement and other political events connected to the campaign for abolition.

Thomas Fowell Buxton, M. P. (1786–1845) was a philanthropist who had many connections with the Quaker movement through the family of his wife, who was the sister of Henry Gurney and Elizabeth Fry. He was a passionate opponent of slavery, and campaigned to end it at a time when most British people believed that enough had been done by the abolition of slave trading in 1807. His other great interest was the punishment of crime: he wanted the death sentence abolished, and his campaign succeeded in reducing the number of capital crimes from over two hundred to eight. This book is a plea for a complete change in the purpose and operation of prisons, and an argument (still valid today) that prisons actually encourage crime and produce recidivists rather than reformed characters. Buxton draws on own his experience as a visitor to produce a harrowing account of Victorian prison conditions.