Slavery 3
What was the journey of a slave? (What you are learning about today is not ‘nice’ but it is important to know. You do not have to watch the videos but they will hopefully help your understanding)
RECAP Quiz – answers are below if you want to check. Green = current topic (slavery), orange = older topic (democracy), red = oldest topic (empire)
- What was the middle passage?
- What Ocean did the slave trade we are learning about centre around?
- On which leg of the journey were guns usually on the ships?
- What was Peterloo?
- What year did men and women get equal voting rights in Britain?
- In which century did the British Empire come to an end?
- Complete this famous saying about the British Empire: “the sun never….
Answers
- The journey from Africa to the Americas which transported slaves
- the Atlantic Ocean
- The journey from Europe to Africa
- The Peterloo Massacre took place in 1819. It was when a peaceful protest for democratic reform was violently ended by the authorities
- 1928. In 1918 some women got the vote for the first time, but it was not until 1928 that it was equal to men (universal suffrage)
- Most people would agree it was the 20th century
- “The sun never sets on the British Empire” This was a mark of how vast (large) it was
What was the journey of a slave?
We know that approximately 12 million slaves were taken from West Africa and moved across the Atlantic Ocean to be sold in the Americas (the New World). We don’t however, have many accounts of individual slave stories. The reason for this is that very little evidence remains about the individuals who were forced on the middle passage and sold into slavery. Below is a genuine story about a girl who was sold into slavery, she was given the name Priscilla. Read it through then answer the questions below.
The words and phrases in red have definitions below to help you.
- abetted = assist
- interior of their countries = going inland from the coast
- Rhode Island-based ship, the Hare = Rhode Island is a state in America. The ship was called the Hare and was based there.
- Denizens = people from a specific place.
- South Carolina and Georgia = two states in America who had slaves
- Sierra Leone = a country on the West coast of Africa
- plantation = a large farm (plant) where crops such as sugar, cotton and tobacco were grown
Task 1: Short answer questions about Priscilla’s story – all the answers are in the text
- What percentage of slaves were brought to America?
- True or false? Priscilla came from Senegal
- In what century was Priscilla transported across the middle passage?
- How many slaves were on her ship when it arrived in South Carolina? (You need to do a bit of maths!)
- How old was Priscilla when she was bought at auction?
- Why is she called Priscilla?
- Who was Jeffrey in this story?
- When did Priscilla die?
Answers
- 4%
- Sort of false – we don’t know where she came from, we only know where she was put on the ship (Sierra Leone)
- 18th century (1756)
- 68. The story tells us that 84 left and reports indicate that 16 died
- 10 years old
- that was the name her slave owner gave her. We don’t know what we actual name was when she was born
- The person Priscilla married on the plantation
- 1811
Task 2: Why do you think Priscilla’s story is important? What does it tell us about slavery? Write a short paragraph explaining your views.
(Think about our limited records of slaves, the detail we have on her, her age and what that suggests, the fact she was seemingly on her own)
The below video is entirely optional.
THINK (you don’t need to write any answers): Think back to your learning on the trade triangle. What ‘reason’ was there for transporting people like Priscilla and millions of other’s away from their homeland? Why was this allowed to happen? Remember it was only 250 years ago.
Well done you have completed today’s lesson!