Nov 26, 2022
In this episode Jon talks to James Walvin OBE Professor Emeritus
in History at York University. James is a world renowned authority
on the subject of the transatlantic slave trade and has written
extensively on the subject. As a young man John Newton was a sailor
and rose to be captain of a ship transporting enslaved Africans to
the Caribbean. At one stage he nearly drowned and promised his life
to God, despite which he returned to slave trading. We find this
hard to understand today. James describes a worldwide economic
system which held the slave trade in place for so long. It was
protected and supported by the British Government and penetrated
every walk of British life.
https://www.york.ac.uk/history/staff/emeritus-honorary/james-walvin/
From July 2022 to July 2023 a small English town called Olney
will be at the centre of commemorations marking the 250th
anniversary of the writing of 'Amazing Grace' possibly the world's
most beloved hymn. The famous words were written by Revd John
Newton in the weeks leading up to his New Year's Day service at St
Peter & St Paul Church on 1st January 1773. The hymn, in various
musical styles, has gone on to inspire countless people and has
even become known in America as the nations's 'spiritual
anthem.'
https://cowperandnewtonmuseum.org.uk/amazing-grace-250-commemorations/