Slaver Captain

An Anglican clergyman best remembered as the author of the hymn "Amazing Grace", John Newton was engaged in the slave trade for the first thirty years of his life and made several voyages as the captain of slave ships. In 1755, after suffering a severe stroke, he turned away from seafaring and pursued a path to the priesthood. His memoir offers a remarkable, no-holds-barred account of the African slave trade, as well as an account of his struggle between Christian religion and the flesh.