The Life of John Newton, Once a Sailor, Afterwards Captain of a Slave Ship

"The story of a youth who was a virtual slave in Sierra Leone before ironically becoming a slave trader himself." -Amazing Grace in John Newton: Slave Ship Captain (2004)
"Experiences as captain of a slave ship led him to join the ministry and campaign against the evils of slavery." -Slave Ship Captain: The Story of John Newton (1975)
"Amazing Grace...was written by former slave trader John Newton...incredible life story." -Amazing Grace: The Story of America's Most Beloved Song (2009)

How did a former slave trader become one of the most famous ministers in England responsible for writing the hymn "Amazing Grace?"

In 1854, former slave trader turned minister John Newton (1725-1807) published the story of his amazing adventures and transformation in his book, "The Life of John Newton, Once a Sailor, Afterwards Captain of a Slave Ship."

John Newton (1725 1807) was an English Anglican cleric, a captain of slave ships who later became an abolitionist, and an investor of trade. He served as a sailor in the Royal Navy for a period after forced recruitment.

Newton went to sea at a young age and worked on slave ships in the slave trade for several years. In 1745, he himself became a slave of Princess Peye, a woman of the Sherbro people. He was rescued, returned to sea and the trade, becoming Captain of several slave ships. After retiring from active sea-faring, he continued to invest in the slave trade. Some years after experiencing a conversion to Christianity, Newton later renounced his trade and became a prominent supporter of abolitionism. Now an evangelical, he was ordained as a Church of England cleric and served as parish priest at Olney, Buckinghamshire, for two decades. He also wrote hymns, including "Amazing Grace" and "Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken".

Newton lived to see the British Empire's abolition of the African slave trade in 1807, just months before his death.

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