Wilberforce may have thought that God was punishing him for his failure to end the slave trade: his shame is right there in his gut.

NEWYORKER: Free Spirits

William Wilberforce (Ioan Gruffudd), upon entering Parliament in 1780 at the age of twenty-one, resolved, with the aid of his friend William Pitt (Benedict Cumberbatch), soon to be Prime Minister at the age of twenty-four, to end the slave trade in the British Empire.

NEWYORKER: Amazing Grace

"Lives For Sale" is the investigative documentary that explores how each year, nearly 20, 000 people leave their countries for the American dream only to end up in a modern slave-trade nightmare.

NPR: Film Looks at Immigrants Caught in Slave Trade

"It's tough working for high-end people who want you to be their full-time slave, " says Darlene Barnes of her old job as a personal chef.

WSJ: Dude, Those Candied Walnuts Go Great at a Kegger

When the king dies, Orumba satisfies his ambition for the crown by selling Oroonoko too, and the lovers end up in the British colony of Surinam, where Oroonoko leads a slave rebellion, is betrayed, imprisoned and finally killed.

ECONOMIST: Theatre at Stratford