Amazing Grace the Movie
By | Aug 27, 2007
No not a review, though I thought the movie was excellent. So instead some comments, about the relevance of the history portrayed in this film to my parish, at Waimate North in the Bay of Islands, and some insights into the legacy of slavery. In the nature of a movie, much historical depth was missed, however it was alluded to.
William Wilberforce was born in Hull, England in 1759, and first elected to the House of Commons at the age of 21. During his time in Parliament, Wilberforce led the political battle to abolish slavery and its trade throughout the
British Empire. He was a committed Christian. Another who features prominently is John Newton who was a former captain of a slave ship. Ultimately he became an Anglican priest and wrote one of the most popular hymns in the world, Amazing Grace. Newton declared that, “only God’s amazing grace could and would take a rude, profane, slave-trading sailor and transform him into a child of God.†Newton was the instrument God raised up from the depths, to place a protégé, William Wilberforce on the path of service to humanity.
The late 18th and early 19th century was a period of social reform and Wilberforce was one of the founders of the Church Missionary Society and therefore responsible for early Anglican missionary activity in the Bay of Islands. The spiritual background to the emergence of CMS was the great outpouring of energy in Western Europe now called The Great Awakening. John Wesley an Anglican priest became a major influence in the reform movement, in the UK. Not all those influenced by the revival left the Anglican Church to become Methodists, one such was John Venn, the Rector of Clapham in London and he formed the Clapham Sect of which Wilberforce was a member. The Clapham Sect was the “think tankâ€.
This history of theUnited Kingdom could be considered remote to us in New Zealand today, but it actually has a great deal to do with our parish at Waimate North and the ultimate history of this country. Â The founders of CMS were committed to three great enterprises: abolition of the slave trade, social reform at home and world evangelisation. Seeing the historical characters in the film it was an excellent insight to the minds and attitudes of the early missionaries here at Te Waimate (Waimate North). These people were very much believers in the dignity of human kind and wished to bring the message of salvation through Jesus Christ to all in the world. Tino Rangatiratanga (Maori self determination) is often thought of as a modern political movement, but this was how the early missionaries saw and desired this country to be run, by the indigenous population. They wanted a generation to go by before settlement, in order that Maori could have the structures in place to govern.This is often overlooked as the momentum of secular European activities overtook this desire.
We could assume that the slavery issues of the 19th century were now dealt with and that the modern African would have no emotional connection to this. Modern slavery issues such as child labour are the present, but I would like to share a couple of personal experiences that illustrate that this legacy is still potent.
The Gambia was Britain’s main slave route and a few years back I visited there with my family. Whilst there I visited Fort James an island fort where the slaves were held before transportation. The Africans traditionally wore a belt of beads called a juju belt; this was believed to have spiritual powers and offered protection. As the slaves were to be loaded on to the boat the belt was torn from their bodies. We can relate to this in New Zealand, if we think of the belt in the same way as Maori taonga and how distressing it would be for a whanau taonga to be stripped in such a way and in such circumstances. The point is that there were so many belts torn off, that even today there are still beads amongst the gravel on the beach! Whilst there, an African American who was with our group found a bead. It was a deeply significant moment for us all as he broke down in tears.
I have a friend called Abu; he is from the Gambia, studying in London, before returning home. When I was living in England I thought it would be a good idea to take Abu to Brighton, to see what an English seaside town was like. One of the places of interest is The Brighton Pavilion. It is a palace built by the Prince Regent, who later became King George IV. The palace is internally and externally decorated with extreme opulance. As Abu and I moved from grand room to grand room, I  sensed that Abu was becoming quiet and in fact seemed a little upset. I was oblivious to the pictures of the sugar plantations and such scenes hanging on the walls.  He then asked “how was this possible that so much wealth could be aquired and spent frivolously? Of course the answer was the wealth of the empire was built on the slave trade. Â
So the point of these two stories is that even today, for those whose people were effected by the African/European slave trade  - it still hurts.
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Comments
Stephen Close
September 3rd, 2007 at 10:40 pm
A thoughtful article. It reminds me of a comment that the typical sailor in the Endeavour wasless of a man than the typical Maori who greeted him. In other words, where did true civilization lie. We are discovering anew the vast heritage that Maori have bequethed to us.