James Stephen (30 June 1758-10 October 1832) was an English lawyer, associated with the abolitionist movement.

Stephen was born in Poole, Dorset, and began his career reporting on parliamentary proceedings. He held an official post in St. Kitts, at that time a British colony. His experiences in the West Indies turned him against the concept of slavery , and he joined the abolitionist movement, marrying the sister of William Wilberforce in 1800. In 1808 he became an MP and rose to the position of under-secretary in the Colonial Office. He was the grandfather of Sir James Fitzjames Stephen and Sir Leslie Stephen.

Works

• The Slavery of the British West Indies (1824)