Slavery, thriving in the eighteenth century, took a major blow which drastically slowed the growth of the idea and becoming common. This initial step in the worldwide movement of emancipation began with the new concepts of Enlightenment. These ideas introduced individual freedom and political equality. Spreading across the Western world, civilizations began to question slavery and asked if it was compatible with these new ideas. William Wilberforce rise as a central figure in aiding the momentum of abolition. Noticing how dependent many aspects of modern life were on slavery, he targeted the trade first. Once the trade was removed, slavery would wither to later be abolished. Abolishing the slave trade was greatly easier than slavery itself.
