The Full Story
John Newton was born in London in 1725. His mother died when he was six. He went to sea at 11 with his father. By 20, he was wild: deserting ships, getting flogged by the Navy.
Then he ended up in Sierra Leone, enslaved by a slave trader's wife. A British man, in chains, in Africa. He was rescued in 1748. On the voyage home, a storm nearly killed him. He cried out to God for the first time in years. The ship survived, barely. Newton marked 21 March 1748 as his spiritual birthday for the rest of his life.
But his conversion didn't stop him immediately. He became a slave ship captain, transporting enslaved Africans across the Atlantic. It took years for the full horror of what he was doing to reach him.
Eventually he left the sea, became a clergyman, and wrote a hymn for the New Year's service of 1 January 1773: 'Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me.' The wretch wasn't metaphorical. He meant himself.
In his later years, Newton became one of the most powerful voices against the slave trade. He gave evidence to official inquiries, including the Privy Council and a parliamentary select committee. He mentored William Wilberforce. His eyewitness testimony of the horrors of the Middle Passage was devastating evidence.
The Slave Trade Act was passed on 25 March 1807. John Newton died on 21 December that same year. He lived just long enough to see it end.
Why This Matters
John Newton's journey from enslaved man to enslaver to abolitionist shows the power of moral transformation. His testimony and mentorship of Wilberforce were crucial to the abolition of the slave trade.
Key Facts
- ✓John Newton born 24 July 1725 in London. Mother Elizabeth died of tuberculosis in July 1732, when Newton was six. (Cowper & Newton Museum; Britannica)
- ✓First went to sea aged 11 with his father, a shipmaster in Mediterranean trade.
- ✓Press-ganged into the Royal Navy. Deserted. Caught and flogged publicly. (Multiple biographical sources)
- ✓Enslaved in Sierra Leone c. 1745-1748 by Amos Clowe, a slave trader. Given to Clowe's wife, Princess Peye of the Sherbro people, who treated him brutally. Newton described himself as "a servant of slaves in West Africa." (Cowper & Newton Museum; Britannica; PBS)
- ✓Storm conversion: March 21, 1748, aboard the merchant ship Greyhound off County Donegal, Ireland. Newton cried out "If this will not do, the Lord have mercy upon us!" Ship limped into Lough Swilly. Newton marked March 21st as his "spiritual birthday" annually. (Multiple sources)
- ✓Slave ship captain: Captained the Duke of Argyle (1750, one voyage) and the African (1752-53 and 1753-54, two voyages). Previously served as first mate on the slave ship Brownlow. (Cowper & Newton Museum; Wikipedia)
- ✓He continued in the slave trade after his conversion experience. He later wrote: "I cannot consider myself to have been a believer in the full sense of the word, until a considerable time afterwards." (His own writings)
- ✓Suffered a severe stroke in 1754, ending his sea career. Continued to invest financially in slave trading operations.
- ✓Ordained as Church of England clergyman in 1764. Became curate of St Peter and St Paul's Church, Olney, Buckinghamshire (1764-1780).
- ✓"Amazing Grace" written late 1772. First used in a prayer meeting on 1 January 1773. Published in Olney Hymns (1779), co-written with poet William Cowper. Newton wrote 280 of the 348 hymns in the collection. (Cowper & Newton Museum)
- ✓"A wretch like me": Newton's literal self-description. Near the end of his life he said: "My memory is nearly gone, but I remember two things: That I am a great sinner and that Christ is a great Saviour." (Multiple biographical sources)
- ✓Meeting with Wilberforce: Late 1785. Wilberforce sought Newton at his London parish (St Mary Woolnoth). Was so nervous about being seen that he walked around the square twice before knocking. Newton urged him to stay in Parliament and fight slavery. Second meeting October 28, 1787. (The Washington Institute; multiple sources)
- ✓"Thoughts Upon the African Slave Trade" published January 1788. Newton printed 3,000 copies at his own expense and sent them to every member of the House of Commons and House of Lords. Took no profits; directed revenue to the Sunday School Society. Also testified before the Privy Council and a Parliamentary Select Committee. (Wikisource; Parliament UK)
- ✓Slave Trade Act 1807: Passed 25 March 1807, abolishing the slave trade throughout the British Empire.
- ✓Newton died 21 December 1807, approximately nine months after the Slave Trade Act passed. He was 82 years old. (Cowper & Newton Museum; Britannica)
- ✓"Amazing Grace" became an anthem of the American civil rights movement in the 1960s. Fannie Lou Hamer led protesters in singing it during the 1964 Mississippi Freedom Summer. Mahalia Jackson recorded a definitive gospel version. It has been recorded thousands of times across every genre. (Christianity Today)
- ⚠"The most recorded song in the English language": frequently cited claim. Difficult to verify absolutely, but "Amazing Grace" is consistently listed among the most performed and recorded songs in history. Defensible.
- ⚠Newton's exact role in the abolition movement: He was one of many voices, not the sole cause. His testimony was influential but Wilberforce had many advisors and the movement was broad. The script presents Newton as helping, not single-handedly causing, abolition. Defensible.
- ⚠Correction: the video says Newton wrote Amazing Grace in 1772 and testified before Parliament. The hymn was written for the New Year's service of 1 January 1773 (drafted in late 1772); and his evidence went to official inquiries, the Privy Council and a parliamentary select committee, which is how this page phrases it.