Amazing Grace is the amazingly mediocre film about William Wilberforce and the end of the slave trade by Britain. The film starts in 1796 before flashing back 15 years to 1782 during the debate over ending the american revolutionary war which establishes the duke of Clarence (future William IV) as an antagonist of Wilberforce. During a card game in the next scene Clarence, when he's running low on chips/money tries to add "his ******" to the pot causing Wilberforce to leave disgusted.

Do you see the problem?

Because of the context clues of Parliament's debate there is no doubt we are on the British mainland in 1782 and a man is being held as a house slave. Somerset v Stewart decided by Lord Mansfield (who is the subject of a future badhistory post about the film Belle) in 1772 declared that slavery was not a part of English common law and thus absent a future act of Parliament any slave on English soil was a free man. Thus Clarence had no legal right to try and sell his slave/carriage driver to Wilberforce.

tl;dr 1782 comes after 1772.

The state of slavery is of such a nature that it is incapable of being introduced on any reasons, moral or political, but only by positive law, which preserves its force long after the reasons, occasions, and time itself from whence it was created, is erased from memory. It is so odious, that nothing can be suffered to support it, but positive law. Whatever inconveniences, therefore, may follow from the decision, I cannot say this case is allowed or approved by the law of England; and therefore the black must be discharged

for simplicity's sake I decided just to use wikipedia as my main source instead of digging around for a book about the anti slavery movements to produce these basic dates.

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first badhistory post so any tips are appreciated.

edit: title really should be "Amazing Grace: how sweet the sound of a magical re institution of slavery in the UK post Somerset that saved a wretch like me from film badhistory." Mea culpa