An Essay on the Slavery and Commerce of the Human Species Particularly the African. Translated from a Latin Dissertation, which was Honoured with the First Prize in the University of Cambridge, for the Year 1785, with Additions

This 1786 publication is a translation of a prizewinning Latin essay written by Thomas Clarkson (1760-1846) at Cambridge the previous year. Clarkson's deep research into the Atlantic slave trade instilled in him a sense of duty, inspiring him to devote his life to abolitionism. The publication of the essay introduced Clarkson to like-minded campaigners, notably William Wilberforce (1759-1833) and Granville Sharpe (1735-1813), with whom he helped to establish in 1787 the pioneering Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade.