How can we tell the story of the slave trade?

Aims and objectives

• To understand Britain’s role in the slave trade

• To be aware of different historical interpretations of the slave trade.

How did Britain profit from the Slave Trade?

• Britain benefited from the Slave Trade in many ways: new imports such as sugar and coffee were introduced, it brought in raw materials for Britain’s growing industries and provided many jobs creating a market abroad for British goods.

• The Trade Triangle was a very profitable system.

• The ships never sailed empty and those involved in the trade made lots of money.

The cost of human life1large sheet of plain cloth2 large kettles3 pieces of patterned cloth1 piece of handkerchief cloth

woman slave

2 large kettles2 pieces of plain cloth1 piece of brass1 bar of iron

boy slave

Task One

• The next four slides show images connected to the slave trade.

• Imagine you are going to give a talk to Year 5 Primary school students about the Slave Trade. You are only allowed to bring one visual aid or picture to show them. Study the images carefully and decide which one you will take with you. Explain your choice.

Image 1

Image 2

Image 3

Image 4

Image selections

• Image 1-shows slaves after capture and reveals that black people were also involved in the slave trade.

• Image 2-shows how cramped and uncomfortable conditions were on the slave ships.

• Image 3-is an illustration of a auction were slaves were sold like cattle.

• Image 4-is a painting of slaves working on a plantation. Many of these paintings were commissioned by plantation owners

Historical Interpretations

• Historians have different points of view about slavery and plantation life.

• Some historians want to expose people to the cruelty of slavery and seek to emphasise how brutal life on the plantations really was.

• Other historians want to tell a more positive story about plantation life. They emphasise how slaves rose above the horrors and were not just victims.

Task Two

• Study the information on plantation life. Select the evidence that can be used:

a) to emphasise how cruel and brutal life was for slaves

b) to support the view that slaves were not passive victims and rose above the horrors of plantation life.

Task 3• Working in pairs you are now going to create your own

on-line exhibition about slavery using information and images from the Maritime museum in London.

• There are two options: a) exhibition by themeb) exhibition by word

• You will select 5 items for your exhibition and will be asked to explain what you have chosen, what it shows and why you have chosen it.

• Your work will be peer assessed. • You will have a maximum of 2 lessons to complete this

task.

Getting started!

• Use the following link to start designing your slavery exhibition:

• http://www.nmm.ac.uk/freedom/create.cfm