Program 1: "Africans Become Slaves
for the New World"
During the video and related learning activities students will explore:
1. The history, geography and economy of West Africa before the trans-Atlantic slave trade.
2. The cultural diversity of the West African people.
3. The influence and impact of Europeans and other civilizations on Africa.
4. The business of slavery prior to the crossing of the Atlantic Ocean and its relationship to the economy
of Africa, and nearby continents.
5. How information and experiences may be interpreted by people from diverse cultural perspectives and
frames of reference.
Video Outline
1. Importance of studying history to guide our future.
2. Changing the face of slavery in Africa from trans-Saharan to trans-Atlantic.
3. Internal and external slavery needs of indigenous people of the region.
4. Infrastructure of transatlantic slave business.
5. Economic issues that involved Africans in slave process.
6. Forts and castles used in the slave shipping process.
7. Moving through the door of no return as the slaves were moved to the cargo ships.
Learning Activity 1 - What is a Griot?
Goals:
• Explore the early cultures of the West African people.
• Identify how storytelling and oral literacy contributed to the African society and family structures.
• Recognize the characteristics and purpose of proverbs and folk tales.
• Compare the use of proverbs and folk tales within English and West African cultures.
• Identify symbols, folk tales and proverbs that provide information about West African’s shared assumptions, values and beliefs.
Overview:
Captain Bill is portrayed in the video series as a modern day griot, sharing with us the things he has
learned in his travels to Africa and the Americas. Students will investigate the role and function of the
griot and the stories and information shared with the people of the community. They will discover similarities between African proverbs and folk tales and those in American and European literature and
language.
Included with the learning activity for the students is one variation of an African folk tale that relates to
friendship and trust. There are numerous African myth, proverb and folk tale books available for students
of many ages. The Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute, an educational partnership between Yale University and the New Haven Public Schools, facilitates institutes where teachers research and design curriculum units. The complete index for all of their work is available at http://www.cis.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/. In 1998 the theme for one the projects was “Cultures and Their Myths” and includes several
wonderful full curriculum units on African myths. African culture units also appear in other volumes, but
the 1998 work has direct connections to this learning activity. The specific African myth related curriculum units that include in depth explorations of African myths, proverbs and folk tales are:
4
“African Slave Trade” Teachers Guide © 2001 GPN
•
•
African Myths and What They Teach by Roberta Mazzucco at
http://www.cis.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/1998/2/98.02.03.x.html
Three African Trickster Myths / Tales - Primary Style by Linda Frederick-Malanson at
http://www.cis.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/1998/2/98.02.04.x.html
Traditional Adinkra symbols continue to be an important expression of African-American’s roots in West
Africa. They are found on popular clothing and jewelry worn today. Students will explore the Asante
(sometimes spelled Ashanti) culture and compare the beliefs, values and traditions to their own culture
through the Adinkra symbols and proverbs. Web quests for information about Ghana and the Ivory Coast
will provide additional information about the Asante culture. The Republic of Ghana hosts a Web site that
includes information about the government, people, history and Adinkra symbols at http://www.ghana.com/
republic/adinkra/. Online versions of the activity in the student guide are available at Bill Pinkney’s Middle
Passage Web site at http://www.highseas.org/mpv_webpages/learning/activities/leg3/leg3f.htm and a
project called “On The Line” linking schools and communities along the Greenwich Meridian Line at http://
www.ontheline.org.uk/schools/adinkra/adinkrat.htm.
Assessment:
After this exploration of African proverbs and folk tales, students should be able to identify the meanings
of other proverbs and tales. Working in teams or individually, have students compare other proverbs and
describe their intentions. Students could also act out other folk tales and produce a show for younger
grades sharing the wisdom of the African griots.
Learning Activity 2 - Where is Timbuktu?
Goals:
• Explore the economic conditions and processes of early African societies.
• Experience the interconnectedness of the countries of West Africa.
• Speculate about the effects of the trans-Atlantic slave trade on the societies and economies of West
Africa.
Overview:
Students are asked to investigate the trading patterns of the Sub-Saharan regions of Africa through the
11th and 15th century. They will research the West African people during those times and the unique
roles different tribes and empires played in the global economy.
After completing their research, students will create a web that represents the trading practices of the
Sub-Saharan region. After identifying the goods that were traded, students will create a visual representation of the trading process. It can be represented on a large map in the classroom or with students each
representing a region, people or product that was traded.
Educators have online versions of curriculum units that explore Mali and the trading patterns of West
Africa prior to the trans-Atlantic slave trade. The educators involved in WorldTrek included explorations
of West African with their project and can be viewed at http://www.worldtrek.org/odyssey/teachers/
malilessons.html . Florida State University facilitates a Geographic Education and Technology Program
that includes a set of lesson plans on Timbuktu that can expand and enhance the activities included with
the student guide at http://multimedia2.freac.fsu.edu/fga/academy/aftimb.htm.
Assessment:
Students (in teams or individuals) create posters or brochures that would be used to “advertise” their
goods or specialties brought to the markets of Timbuktu. With the students, create a list that includes the
important elements of the project identified by the class.
“African Slave Trade” Teachers Guide © 2001 GPN
5
Learning Activity 3 - How has Africa changed?
Goals:
• Explore the regional histories of Africa.
• Learn more about the colonization and decolonization of Africa.
• Celebrate the rich cultural contributions Africa makes to our diverse world.
Overview:
The history and skills of the slaves brought to the New World through the African slave trade fostered the
growth of the Americas. Through researching the history of the current African countries, students will
gain insight into the people and skills that were transported to the Americas. The development of a
timeline will help build individual and shared knowledge of the history of Africa.
Assessment:
Each student should be able to report on a country in modern West Africa tracing its history from before
slavery to current time. The product could be in a traditional research paper version, web page or a
multimedia report. Establish a rubric before the students begin the research and report process that
outlines the expectations for the project.
Learning Activity 4 - What is perspective?
Goals:
• Read and comprehend text written by individuals participating in the slave trade or narrating the
stories in the modern age.
• Describe the shared assumptions, values and beliefs of the people involved in the African slave trade.
• Compare the impact of perspective on the narration of historical events.
• Use the written word to communicate perspective of an event.
Overview:
There are many accounts of the capture of the Africans for the trans-Atlantic slave trade. The slaves tell
some tales of the slave trade, others are told by those involved in the capture and transport of the slaves.
Writers, poets and songwriters have also captured different perspectives of the slave trade. Students will
be asked to take on the role of the different people (Africans and Europeans) involved in the capturing
and preparing the slaves for the journey across the Atlantic. They will be documenting what that person
would be seeing and experiencing in a journal-type narrative. They are asked to provide descriptions of
what they would be sensing if they were participating (willingly or unwillingly) in the African slave trade
process.
This is the first activity on perspective within the video series. It will be repeated with each video as we
explore a different leg of the journey. The teacher may choose to limit this activity to one team of students with a different team taking on the perspective assignment for another video. Additional primary
source documents that could be added to the perspective activities are available on a Web site compiled by
Steven Mintz from the University of Houston at http://vi.uh.edu/pages/mintz/primary.htm.
Assessment:
This activity could serve as the assessment tool for all of the activities and projects. Create a rubric that
can be shared with the students before the assignment begins. Evaluate how well each student provides a
frame of reference for their narrative and includes the cultural and philosophical clues that help us understand the viewpoint of the person that they are assigned.
6
“African Slave Trade” Teachers Guide © 2001 GPN
Student Guide for Program 1:
"Africans Become Slaves for the New World"
During the video and related learning activities students will explore:
• The history, geography and economy of West Africa before the trans-Atlantic slave trade.
• Cultural diversity of the West African people.
• The influence and impact of Europeans and other civilizations on Africa.
• The business of slavery prior to the crossing the Atlantic Ocean and it’s relationship to the economy
of Africa, and nearby continents.
• How information and experiences may be interpreted by people from diverse cultural perspectives
and frames of reference.
Vocabulary Words
bastions
chambers
chattel slavery
colonization
cordwood
decolonization
despair
ethnography
ferried
griot
indigenous
infrastructure
precipitated
symbiotic
trade winds
trans-Saharan
trans-Atlantic
trans-shipment
vaults
ventilation
Video Outline
1. The role of a griot in African culture and in the videos.
2. Importance of studying history to guide our future.
3. Changing face of slavery from trans-Saharan to trans-Atlantic Africa.
4. Internal and external slavery needs of indigenous people of the region.
5. Infrastructure of the African slave business.
6. Economic issues that involved Africans in the slave process.
7. Forts and castles used in the slave shipping process.
8. Moving through the door of no return as the slaves were moved to the cargo ships.
“African Slave Trade” Student Guide © 2001 GPN
7
Discussion Questions
1. In what ways are Captain Bill and the Griot similar?
2. Why do you think Professor Perbi tells us that not everyone wants to discuss the early slave trade in
Africa?
3. What were the differences between the internal and external slave trade?
4. Who were the people involved in the early African slave trade processes? What roles did they play?
5. What were the economic conditions in the world as the African slave trade began and flourished?
6. How were the slave forts and castle used as a part of the trading process?
7. What was required to prepare for the transport of the Africans across the ocean?
Learning Activity 1 - What is a Griot?
Griots are historians, praise-singers and musical entertainers. A griot (gree’-oh) is a historian with a
special role in West African culture. He is a revered community member who, before the written word,
would memorize all of a village’s significant events, like births, death, marriages, hunts, seasons and wars.
The stories would be told to ensure that the collective heritage, traditions, culture and lineage of the
community continued. A griot would speak for hours, even days, drawing upon a practiced and memorized history that had been passed on from griot to griot for generations.
In the book, Roots, Alex Haley acknowledges the African griots that helped with the research for his
book. He says in the acknowledgements:
Finally, I acknowledge immense debt to the griots of Africa – where today it is rightly said that when a
griot dies, it is as if a library has burned to the ground. The griots symbolize how all human ancestry goes
back to some place, some time, where there was no writing. Then, the memories and the mouths of
ancient elders was the only way that early histories of mankind got passed along…for all of us today to
know who we are.
Often, the griot shares stories that are considered to be folk tales or proverbs today. These stories were
an important method of teaching lessons that were important for well being and community spirit.
Discussion
1. Do you have a griot in your family?
2. If so, who and why would they consider them a griot?
Learning Activity 1A - What are proverbs and folk tales?
Discussion
1. What are proverbs?
2. What are folk tales?
3. Share the proverbs that you and your team and class know of. For example:
Haste makes waste.
A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
4. Describe, act out and/or discuss the meaning of the proverbs that you have identified.
5. Do you know the country or language of origin of any of the proverbs?
8
“African Slave Trade” Student Guide © 2001 GPN
Proverbs and folk tales are also common within the various world cultures. In 1886 a book of folk tales
and proverbs was documented by George McCall Theal and published by S. Sonnenschein, Le Bas &
Lowrey, in London. The project called the “Sacred Text Archive” has made available the entire book
online at http://www.sacred-texts.com/afr/kaf.htm. There are other texts that are available at the site and
Theal’s work, included here, is just a sample of the early work that was done to understand the African
people during the post African Slave Trade period.
The stories are based on the Kaffir, a people identified as living in Southern Africa and on the eastern
coast. The word Kaffir was used to signify any native African in the region, usually restricted to members of the Amaxosa tribe.
Theal writes:
The language of a Kaffir is adorned with figurative expressions, some of which are readily understood by
an Englishman, but others, when literally interpreted, are to us meaningless. Such expressions, however,
are found upon inquiry to refer to some circumstance in their mode of living, or some event in their
traditional history, which makes the meaning very clear. A few of their commonest proverbs and figurative expressions are here given:
Theal’s version of Amaxosan proverbs and interpretations
Amaxosa
English Translation
Interpretation
Uvutelwe pakati nje nge vatala.
He is ripe inside, like a watermelon.
Said of anyone who has come to a
resolution without yet expressing it.
From its appearance it cannot be
said with certainty whether a
watermelon is ripe or not.
Ulahla imbo yako ngopoyiyana.
You have cast away your own for
that which you are not sure of.
This proverb is equivalent to the
English one, A bird in the hand is
worth two in the bush.
Ubukulu abubangwa.
One does not become great by
claiming greatness.
This proverb is used to incite
anyone to the performance of
noble deeds. It means, a man’s
actions, not his talk and boasting,
are what people judge of his
greatness by.
Inkala ixingetyeni.
The crab has stuck fast between
the stones at the entrance of its
hole.
Said of anyone who is involved
in difficulties of their own creation, or of one who raises an
argument and is beaten in it.
Sova singasemoyeni.
We shall hear, we are on the side
towards which the wind blows.
The saying denotes, we shall soon
know all that is going on.
“African Slave Trade” Student Guide © 2001 GPN
9
Discussion
1. How do you think the world would have responded to Theal’s interpretations if he had published the
tales and proverbs 200 years earlier in 1686?
2. Do you think the publishing of the book changed the way Africans were thought of and treated in the
region?
The Yoruba of West Africa share a folk tale about friendship:
“Olaleye and Omoteji were best friends who lived next door to each other. A neighbor
decided to test their friendship. He made himself a hat––red on one side, green on the other.
He put on his new hat and walked towards Olaleye and Omoteji’s farms.
He passed Omoteji on his left and greeted him. Omoteji said, “Good morning, what a nice
red hat you are wearing.” The man thanked him and bid him good day.
He continued down the road and met up with Olaleye who was working in his garden on his
right. “Good morning Olaleye. How are you this morning?” Olaleye replied, “Good morning I
am fine. That is a wonderful green hat on your head.” The man said, “Thank you. I made it
myself. See you later, Olaleye.”
The two friends met for lunch and always talked about many things. Olaleye eventually said:
“Did you see our friends new green hat this morning? He said he made it himself.”
“Don’t you mean his red hat,” Omoteji said.
“No his hat was absolutely green, perhaps the sun was in your eyes,” Olaleye corrected his
friend.
The two men began to argue, getting louder and angrier. They were ready to start fighting
when the neighbor walked over and asked why they were arguing. As he spoke he put on his
hat with the red side facing Olaleye and the green side facing Omoteji.
Immediately the two friends stopped fighting. “Oh, my friend, I am sorry,” said Olaleye,
“You were right, the hat is red.”
“No, you were right, the hat is green,” said Omoteji.
They were about to start quarreling again when the man took off his hat and showed it to
both men.
“My friends, please do not argue,” he said. “The hat is both colors, red and green, You
were letting the simple thing like a color of a hat ruin your friendship.”
Olaleye turned to Omoteji and said, “I am a fool. I will never let this happen again––I only
care about your friendship.”
“I have also been foolish Olaleye,” replied Omoteji. “I promise to never fight with you
again.”
And they never did.”
Discussion
1. If a griot told this story to the people of Yoruba, what was his intention?
2. Go to the library or search on the Internet for more African folk tales. Do they have characters in
common with other stories that you have read or heard?
10
“African Slave Trade” Student Guide © 2001 GPN
Learning Activity 1B - What are Adinkra symbols and
proverbs?
Materials
Material to make a stamp from, such as: household sponges (fresh from the package), rubber erasers,
soap to use as a carving material, cardboard; scissors and/or stencil knife, paper, pencils, pen/felt tip pens,
ink pad, tempera and/or fabric paint in various colors (especially black, yellow, green and red); cloth or
paper; and printed versions of Adinkra Symbols.
Activity
Tradition has it that Adinkra, a famous king of Gaymna, now the West African country of Ivory Coast,
wore robes covered with intricate designs. Adinkra means farewell or good-bye. During a battle the
Asante (sometimes spelled Ashanti) killed the King. They took his robe as a trophy and celebrated their
victory by wearing the patterns and symbols on their own clothes. The people of Ghana sometimes wear
the Adinkra symbols on their clothes during celebrations and funerals or to say good-bye to family and friends.
Adinkra symbols are important to the people of the region. Each symbol represents a different proverb shared
in the region and can now be found on clothing, jewelry and art.
Select a proverb that you discussed in learning activity 1. Draw a symbol that represents the
proverb and share it with the class.
Review the images on the Adinkra Symbol page. As a class compare the Adinkra symbols
and proverbs with the results from activity 1A.
Create your own Adinkra symbols and cloth.
a) Each student should choose at least one proverb and associated symbol. It can be
one of the symbols from the Adinkra Symbol Page or it can be one that you have
created and designed.
b) Trace the symbol(s) from the Adinkra Symbol Page or your own design on to a
sponge, eraser, potato or cardboard.
c) Cut around the traced image using scissors or a stencil knife (be very careful - ask
for help if you need it.)
d) If you are using a sponge, you may want to glue a piece of cardboard to the back of
the sponge.
e) Plan out your pattern for the Adinkra Symbols you have selected to use.
f) Squeeze or pour some paint onto a paper plate or tray.
g) Using your stamp and those of your team and classmates, create a class, team or
personal Adinkra cloth. Dip the stamp in the paint and stamp it on paper or cloth.
h) Plan to wear or display your Adinkra cloth during an African celebration or feast. Be
prepared to share the reasons for your symbols and patterns choices on your Adinkra
cloth.
i) Use your stamps on rolls of plain paper as gift-wrap for a special present for some
one you know.
Research more about the Adinkra symbols and the region by going to the Republic of Ghana
Web site at http://www.ghana.com/republic/adinkra/. Included is more information about
other symbols and Kente cloth that are also very important to the Ghanaian people.
“African Slave Trade” Student Guide © 2001 GPN
11
Discussion
1. Do the Asante have any proverbs similar to those identified by the class or those from the Amaxosa?
2. Are any of your symbols similar to the Adinkra symbols?
3. What are the Golden Stool and the Linguist Stick symbols?
Adinkra Symbols
Symbol Description
Symbol
Symbol Description
Adinkrahene (Adinkra
king):
Chief of all the Adinkra
designs.
Gye Nayme (accept
God):
Symbol of the omnipotence and immortality of
God.
Dwannimmen (Ram’s
horn):
It is the heart and not the
horns that leads a ram to
bully.
Concealment.
Hye wonnhye:
He who burns be not
burned.
Symbol of forgiveness turn the other cheek.
Kuntinkantan (do not
boast):
There is need for humility
and service.
Sankofa (return and take
it): It is not a taboo to
return and fetch it when
you forget. You can
always undo your mistakes.
Kra pa (good fortune,
sanctity):
Sanctity, like a cat, abhors
filth.
Symbol of sanctity and
good fortune.
Fihankra (the circular
house or complete house):
This signifies safety or
security in a home.
Funtumfunafu
denkyemfunafu, won
afuru bom, nsi woredidi
a na woreko:
Sharing one stomach yet
they fight over food.
Ohene aniwa:
The king has lots of eyes
and nothing is hidden from
him.
12
Symbol
“African Slave Trade” Student Guide © 2001 GPN
Akoma (the heart):
Take heart and patience.
Symbol of patience and
endurance.
Biribi wo soro:
A symbol of hope.
Owo foro adobe: Snake
climbing the palm tree.
Performing the unusual or
the impossible.
Aya (the fern):
“I am not afraid of you.”
Mframadan (wind house):
House built to stand windy
and treacherous conditions.
Aban (fence):
Representing fenced
homes. A protector.
Double security. Safe and
sound. Foolproof.
Ntesie - mate masie:
I have heard and kept it.
Symbol of wisdom and
knowledge.
Akoko nantia ba, na
ennkum ba:
The hen treads upon its
chicken but it does not kill
them.
Bi-nnka-bi:
Bite not one another.
Epa (handcuffs):
You are the slave of him
whose handcuffs you wear.
Donno ntoaso (double
drum):
Praise.
Donno (drum): Rhythm.
“African Slave Trade” Student Guide © 2001 GPN
13
Kontire ne Akwam
(elders of the state):
One head does not
constitute a council.
Osrane (moon):
It takes the moon some
time to round the nation.
Patience.
Nsaa (a kind of blanket):
The one who knows the
‘Nsaa’ blanket is willing
to buy one even when it
is old.
Akoma ntoaso:
A symbol of agreement or
a charter.
Unity.
Krado - Mmara Krado:
Seal of law and order.
Symbolizing the authority
of the court.
Ese ne tekrema (the
teeth and the tongue):
We improve and advance.
Nkyinkylm:
Changing oneself; playing
many roles.
Funtumfunafu
denkyemfunafu, won
afuru bom, nsi woredidi
a na woreko:
Need for unity particularly
when there is one destiny.
Osarane ne nsoromma
(moon and star):
A symbol of faithfulness.
Odenkyem da nsuo mu,
nso onnhome nsuo,
ohome, mframa:
The crocodile lives in
water; yet it breathes air,
not water.
Fofoo:
What the fofoo plant
wants is that the
gyinantwi seeds should
turn black.
Symbol of jealousy.
Pempamsie (that which
will not be crushed):
Unity is strength
14
“African Slave Trade” Student Guide © 2001 GPN
Learning Activity 2 - Where is Timbuktu?
Materials
Map or atlas of Africa, research materials, cards labeled with the cities of West Africa; a ball of yarn or string,
art materials.
Activity
Have you ever heard someone refer to a place that is far away or remote such as a certain store or
someone’s house, as “all the way to Timbuktu”? What may surprise you is there really is a place called
Timbuktu, although there are many different spellings recorded in history and geography books. Variations of the spelling include Tombuctou and Timbuctoo. It is really a city in Mali on the Niger River. A
description of the city from 1526 is available online at http://www.wsu.edu/~wldciv/world_civ_reader/
world_civ_reader_2/leo_africanus.html.
Mali and the surrounding countries in West Africa have rich and interesting histories. People in this
region have contributed to worldwide civilization. For example, did you know that people of Mali
discovered Sirius B, one of rarest stars of the Dog Star constellation, in the 11th century? Their expertise
with the stars has many historians believing that they were among the earliest people to cross the Atlantic.
Evidence exists that explorers from Mali crossed the ocean in 1311 and 1312 and landed in what is now
Mexico. There are cultural clues of the Malian heritage from folk stories and dances of the indigenous
people in regions of Central America. A strain of African cotton was grown and woven into Native
American cloth in the early 1200s, long before Christopher Columbus arrived in 1492.
There was a complex trading network that connected West Africa, the Mediterranean, the Middle East
and Asia. Many countries in the region participated in the export of their goods for the import of other
items and Timbuktu was an important city within the network. The world’s first global economy included
the trading of silk, cotton, beads, salt, mirrors, dates, gold, kola nuts, ivory and slaves. For example, salt
from the Saharan Desert was a very valuable commodity in early West African civilizations. It was
exported by the people in the Sahara to enable gold to be imported that could be used and sometimes
traded for other goods from sub-Saharan regions. Would you trade a shaker full of salt for a piece of
gold?
Research, individually, in teams, or as a class, cities and regions of historic Africa. Identify the natural
resources and commodities that early civilizations would have traded for other goods during the 12th,
13th, 14th and 15th centuries.
Create a large map of historic Africa on the wall of your classroom and map out the production and
exchange of goods that took place in West Africa and with other regions. You may choose to create a
living web, with each student representing a different region or city of West Africa and using a ball of
yarn or string to map out the exchange of goods, throwing the ball to a different trading partner in the
process.
Discussion
1. What would happen if there was a drought that would reduce the production of a valuable crop in a
particular area or large numbers of people who were responsible for harvesting and collecting the
goods for trading were removed from their region?
2. Would drastic changes in the availability of goods have an impact on only the producers of the goods,
or would mass populations of people be affected within the trans-Saharan trading processes?
3. What changes in the trans-Saharan trading patterns were disrupted before and during the beginnings
of the trans-Atlantic slave trade in the 1500’s?
“African Slave Trade” Student Guide © 2001 GPN
15
Learning Activity 3 - How has Africa changed?
Materials
Maps of the Eastern Hemisphere, resources for researching about historical Africa and art materials.
Activity
Slaves were a commodity within the trans-Saharan trading system before Africans were shipped across
the Atlantic Ocean. There were several factors that made the trans-Saharan trading system different from
the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Although the practice of slavery exploited people who had lost regional
battles or were guilty of crimes within a kingdom, it was not generally associated with a specific race and
slaves were not isolated from the people that they served. There were no plantations or large-scale farms
that required endless hours of hard labor. Slavery was not an inherited or permanent status.
Everything changed in the 15th century when the Portuguese arrived on the coast of West Africa. They
were the first European nation to capitalize on the African slave trade. They took advantage of rival
groups and tribes and encouraged conflicts that would produce more slaves for colonies being established
in the Caribbean and Brazil. Other European countries quickly joined in the practice of enslaving Africans and shipping them to colonies in the New World.
European nations built an extensive network of forts along the African coasts to support and expand the
slave trade. These forts, sometimes called castles, were constructed with permission of the local ruling
people in exchange for rent or goods. The castles and forts included protection, housing and comforts
for the traders and holding centers for the slaves. Often the captives were kept in small subterranean
dungeons within the castles and forts while they awaited transport on slave ships.
In the 1880’s, European nations decided to colonize almost the entire African continent and took away
the independence of most of the African people. France, Great Britain, Germany, Belgium, Portugal,
Spain and Italy all received colonial possession of areas of the continent. Although most of the regions
are now decolonized, the people continue to fight to overcome poverty and political unstableness after
years of repression and exploitation.
Visit the University of Wisconsin Student History Network and their compilation of links, primary source
documents and maps about the Gold Coast from 1450 to 1880 at http://www.history.uwec.edu/
Projects/Trade/Goldcoast/coast.htm. Review the documents and note details that offer historical insight
into the region during the African slave trading period. Each team could review a different document
and share with the class their findings.
1. Summarize the instructions given to the Captain of the Loyall Factors in 1686 and share with
the class what were the expectations of the shipping company.
http://www.history.uwec.edu/Projects/Trade/Goldcoast/goldship.htm
2. Review the two different documents that list items that were traded for slaves. Research what
some of these items are (the writer recommends that you refer to the Oxford English
Dictionary) and prepare to share your findings with the class.
http://www.history.uwec.edu/Projects/Trade/Goldcoast/goldinv.htm
http://www.history.uwec.edu/Projects/Trade/Goldcoast/solomon.htm
3. Outline the three strategies used to capture slaves identified by C.B. Wadstrom
http://www.history.uwec.edu/Projects/Trade/Goldcoast/wadstrom.htm
4. Identify the details that William Bosman published in 1701 about the slave trading business
and how he and his fellow slave traders interacted with the people along the Gold Coast of
Africa.
http://www.history.uwec.edu/Projects/Trade/Goldcoast/bosman.htm
16
“African Slave Trade” Student Guide © 2001 GPN
Add to the map that was created in activity 1 the location of the forts and castles that you can identify
were built and used from late in the 15th century through the 19th century. Identify the European nation
that built the fort by name or with a color coding system and a legend. Include information, if available,
about any transfers of ownership of the castle.
Create timelines that reflect important dates for the countries and compare them to other regional
timelines. Combine the regional timelines to a comprehensive timeline that surrounds the classroom with each student or team adding the important dates for their assigned country. Work in
teams to create a web-based version of the timeline, or database that allows you to search by date,
region, event or people involved in the event.
Prepare an ethnography (one way that anthropologists learn about and compare information about
cultures) for the country you selected. Create a chart that summarizes the major characteristics
that define a culture including location, population, history, language, religion, economy, food,
clothing, shelter and family life that can be shared with the class. Use the notes that you have
included with the categories and timeline and prepare a written or multimedia report that you will
present to your class or another class in your school.
Research the history of the regions of Africa that are reflected on a current political map of
Africa. Prepare a presentation or a report that helps others in the classroom to learn more about
your assigned region or country. Include any current event information for your region in your
presentation.
Plan an African celebration day, where everyone shares his or her research findings. Celebrate
with an African feast that features regional recipes (check out the Web site for some suggestions). Wear
or decorate the room with the Adinkra symbols from activity two. Invite special guests to the celebration that will share folk stories from the African continent.
Learning Activity 4 - What is perspective?
Materials
Writing materials, slave narratives and the other resources that include narration of the events in West Africa
during the trans-Atlantic slave trade.
Activity
There are many accounts of the capture of the Africans for the trans-Atlantic slave trade. The slaves tell
some tales themselves while others are told by those involved in the capture and transport of the slaves.
Olaudah Equiano, an Ibo from Nigeria, was just 11 years old when he was kidnapped into slavery in mid1700. He was held captive in West Africa for seven months and then sold to British slavers, who shipped
him to Barbados and then took him to Virginia. After serving a British naval officer, he was sold to a
Quaker merchant from Philadelphia who allowed him to purchase his freedom in 1766. In later life, he
played an active role in the movement to abolish the slave trade.
Equiano describes his capture in his journals published as The Interesting Narrative of the Life of
Olaudah Equiano or Gustavus Vassa the African in London in 1789. Portions of the journal are available
online in several places including on a Web site compiled by Steven Mintz from the University of Houston. The
index of the “Excerpts from Slave Narratives” is at http://vi.uh.edu/pages/mintz/primary.htm. The following
passage is viewable at http://vi.uh.edu/pages/mintz/3.htm.
“African Slave Trade” Student Guide © 2001 GPN
17
“My father, besides many slaves, had a numerous family, of which seven lived to grow up,
including myself and a sister, who was the only daughter. As I was the youngest of the sons, I
became, of course, the greatest favourite of my mother, and was always with her; and she used
to take particular pains to form my mind. I was trained up from my earliest years in the arts of
agriculture and war; and my mother adorned me with emblems, after the manner of our greatest
warriors. In this way I grew up till I was turned the age of eleven, when an end was put to my
happiness in the following manner: - - Generally, when the grown people in the neighbourhood
were gone far in the fields to labour, the children assembled together in some of the
neighborhood’s premises to play; and commonly some of us used to get up a tree to look out
for any assailant, or kidnapper, that might come upon us; for they sometimes took those opportunities of our parents’ absence, to attack and carry off as many as they could seize.
One day, as I was watching at the top of a tree in our yard, I saw one of those people come
into the yard of our next neighbour but one, to kidnap, there being many stout young people in
it. Immediately, on this, I gave the alarm of the rogue, and he was surrounded by the stoutest of
them, who entangled him with cords, so that he could not escape till some of the grown people
came and secured him. But alas! ere long, it was my fate to be thus attacked, and to be carried
off, when none of the grown people were nigh. One day, when all our people were gone out to
their works as usual, and only I and my dear sister were left to mind the house, two men and a
woman got over our walls, and in a moment seized us both; and, without giving us time to cry
out, or make resistance, they stopped our mouths, and ran off with us into the nearest wood.
Here they tied our hands, and continued to carry us as far as they could, till night came on, when
we reached a small house, where the robbers halted for refreshment, and spent the night. We
were then unbound; but were unable to take any food; and, being quite overpowered by fatigue
and grief, our only relief was some sleep, which allayed our misfortune for a short time.”
Alex Haley wrote the book Roots from the perspective of an observer of family members
and events that he had identified and speculated about during his search for his ancestral roots.
He describes seven generations of events that begins with the birth of Kunta Kinte in 1750.
Much of the information was based on the details that he discovered about the regions of the
events and the historical data available from slave trading and plantation records. He blended
inference with facts and wrote a book that was a dramatic narrative of what many AfricanAmerican experienced in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. Haley describes the night of the
capture of Kinte by the “toubob” the Europeans responsible for the kidnapping of the Mandinka
clan members in the region.
“Somewhere along the banks of the bolong—Kunta could tell by the sounds, and the feel of
the soft ground beneath his feet—he was shoved down into a canoe. Still blindfolded, he heard
the slatees [African’s helping the toubob’s] grunting, rowing swiftly with the toubob hitting him
whenever he struggled. Landing again they walked, until finally that night they reached a place
where they threw Kunta on the ground, tied him with his back to a bamboo fence and, without
warning, pulled off his blindfold. It was dark, but he could see the pale face of the toubob
standing over him, and the silhouettes of others like him on the ground nearby. The toubob held
out some meat for him to bite off a piece. He turned his head aside and clamped his jaws.
Hissing with rage, the toubob grabbed him by the throat and tried to force his mouth open.
When Kunta kept it shut tight, the toubob drew back his fist and punched him hard in the face.”
18
“African Slave Trade” Student Guide © 2001 GPN
Paula Fox provides the perspective of Jessie a young Louisiana boy who is kidnapped by
slave traders to serve on the ship Moonlight in the book The Slave Dancer. Jessie narrates and
describes what he sees and experiences throughout his journey. Fox also combines historical
facts with imaginative reconstruction of the events, such as the evening in 1840 when the Moonlight makes it to the West African shore only to find that the British have destroyed the castle
that the slaves were being held in. Jessie is listening to shipmate Seth Smith about the next steps
for the slave traders.
“He’ll go up and down the coast here,” Smith continued challengingly as though daring the
distant British ships and their crews. “Yes, he will! And along with the rum, he’ll carry the
shackles the chiefs will require for the slaves. Then, one night, there’ll come to our ship a long
canoe filled to the brim with blacks—and the next night, another canoe, so quiet, you won’t
know it’s alongside until the slaves are on deck, wailing and biting their own flesh. They’re all
mad, the blacks! And the British will sweat with rage, for they have no right to search us. The
only danger for us if the British are able to notify the American patrol.”
In all three passages, the authors provided perspective that gives us insights into the culture and beliefs of
the people in the writings. These authors often describe what the senses of the characters are observing
during events that they have written about. The descriptions of the sights, textures, sounds, smells and
tastes that the characters experience help us to imagine and draw a complete mental image of the event.
Discussion
1. Do you notice anything unique about the grammar or spelling of the writings?
2. What senses are being utilized in the three passages by the authors? How does it impact your under
standing of the characters’ perspective?
3. The first two passages are from the perspective of the kidnapped slaves. How would a description of
the events have differed if written by the captors?
4. Do you think that all of the people involved in the capture of the Africans felt the same way about
their jobs and roles in the slave trade? What options did they have?
As a class, identify the many people, Africans, Americans and Europeans, involved in the process of
bringing captured slaves to the ships that would sail across the ocean. Select a European country that
ran a slave castle in one of the regions of West Africa and identify characters that would have been there
while slaves were held waiting for transport. Africans that were brought to the castles were often from
many tribes. Haley noted that the Mandinka, Wolof, Serere, Foulah, Yoruba and Maurelanian were
together during different portions of Kinte’s travels. Include in your character lists Africans from different regions in West Africa that would have been transported to a particular slave castle.
Class members should each select a character from the list and create a journal that describes
what you imagine that the person would experience during a journey to a slave castle and while
awaiting the transport ship. Within the journal include observations experienced through the
senses. Summarize your journal with a timeline of major events and a graphic representation of
how the senses were used in the events in the character’s journal.
“African Slave Trade” Student Guide © 2001 GPN
19