It was against slavery, ‘this greatest of curses’, that BMS missionaries in Jamaica battled in the early nineteenth century.
An important trio of missionaries emerged on the island: Thomas Burchell, James Phillippo and William Knibb. They faced hostility from plantation owners who did not want their slaves to receive any form of instruction.
The missionaries were shocked at the social conditions of slavery and were active in campaigning against it.
During a visit to England in 1832, the three BMS missionaries addressed the BMS Committee, churches and even Parliament about the slavery situation. They were back in Jamaica six years later when freedom was granted to the slaves.