Slavery, Society, and Apartheid: Teacher’s Guide
Grade Level: 6-8
Curriculum Focus: World History
Lesson Duration: Three class periods
Program Description
This program discusses the tragic circumstances suffered by Africans as a result of slavery in the
Americas and legislation in their own homeland. Segments span four centuries of hardship and
hope. This program includes one feature segment and three short segments.
Onscreen Questions
•
Why did many Europeans feel they needed slave labor?
•
What are some things that force societies to change over time?
•
How did racism affect how Africans were treated in the 20th century?
•
What were some of the reasons the South African government banned apartheid?
Lesson Plan
Student Objectives
•
Discuss general information about the Atlantic slave trade.
•
Review facts about the St. John revolt, and brainstorm a list of people involved in the rebellion.
•
Write a personal account from the point of view of one person involved in the revolt.
Materials
•
Slavery, Society, and Apartheid video and VCR, or DVD and DVD player
•
Computer with Internet access
•
Paper, pen or pencil
Slavery, Society, and Apartheid: Teacher’s Guide
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Procedures
1. After watching the program, discuss the Atlantic slave trade. Begin by telling students that from
1500 to 1870, about 11 million Africans were captured and taken on ships to the Americas. Have
students answer the following questions based on what they learned in the program:
• What was the triangular trade? (the slave trade connecting Africa, the Americas, and
Europe)
• Why were slaves considered “black gold”? (They provided inexpensive labor for
plantations in the Americas, making them valuable like gold.)
• Were the slaves always captured by Europeans? Explain. (No; they were often captured
by other African groups.)
• What were some goods traded for slaves? (cloth, metalware, firearms, ammunition, rum)
• Was the slave trade that began in the 16th century Africa’s first experience with slavery?
Explain. (No; African nations had a long history of capturing and trading other groups
into slavery.)
• What was the middle passage? What was it like? (The middle passage was the dangerous
voyage from Africa to the Americas. It was a very difficult journey; slaves fell to disease
and brutal treatment. Sometimes nearly half in a ship died.)
• Describe the experience of slaves traded at St. Thomas Island and other markets. (They
were inspected like cattle, branded, and often separated from their families.
2. Next, review facts about St. John island featured in the program:
• Where is St. John island? (in the Caribbean Sea)
• Why were African slaves traded to St. John island in the 1700s? (to plant and harvest
sugarcane)
• What European country established St. John as its colony? (Denmark)
• What significant event took place there in 1733? (Slaves led a revolt against the plantation
owners.)
• Who led the revolt? (two chieftains from the African nation Akwamu)
• Did the Akwamu leaders who led the rebellion want to abolish slavery? (No, they
intended to take over the island, enslaving anyone who was not with them.)
• How did the Akwamu leaders spread the word of the revolt to the Akwamu on
plantations and in remote jungle camps? (talking drums)
• Were all the slaves on St. John part of the rebellion? (No, some slaves even warned
colonists of the rebel attacks.)
• Did the slaves end up in control of St. John Island? (No, they were overthrown in less
than a year.)
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Slavery, Society, and Apartheid: Teacher’s Guide
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3. Ask students to brainstorm a list of people who were affected by the rebellion. Write their
answers on the board, along with a brief description of the individuals’ roles. Possible answers
include:
•
Governor Philip Gardelin (in charge of sugarcane business; put strict slave code into
effect)
• Johannes Sodtmann (plantation owner and Gardelin’s son-in-law; first target in the 1733
rebellion)
• Akwamu Chieftains (enslaved leaders of Africa’s Akwamu nation; led the revolt)
• Danish soldier (escaped the garrison attacked by rebels)
• Slaves (warned colonists of rebels and helped them escape)
• Kroyer Family (owned small plantation on Brown Bay; killed in rebel attack; their two
young male slaves were rescued)
• Unnamed female slave (joined the rebellion at Brown Bay)
• Peter Durloo (plantation owner; the battle between the rebels and remaining colonists
took place at his plantation)
• Free Negro Corps (slaves recruited to fight the rebels; rewarded with property)
• Mingo Tamarind (captain of a group from the Free Negro Corps; known for his harsh
and effective command)
4. Ask students to consider how the people on this list would have viewed the St. John Revolt.
What were their different motivations, risks, or fears? Have students choose one person from
the list above to write a personal account of the revolt. The account should answer the following
questions (considered from the selected person’s point of view):
•
What is your role, in general and in the revolt?
•
Do you support the revolt? Why or why not?
•
What do you stand to gain or lose?
•
Do you feel the attacks on the plantation owners are justified?
•
What do you see as the ideal outcome of the revolt?
5. Have students share their accounts with the class. Then, discuss the motivations and feelings of
the different people or groups. Did all the slaves participate in the revolt? Was the revolt meant
to abolish slavery on St. John? Were white colonists the only enemy the rebels faced?
6. Conclude by talking about the significance of the St. John Revolt. If the slaves did not end up in
control of the island, why is it important? (St. John was the first black state in the Americas; it
was the first black revolution to occur in America.) Why do islanders still celebrate the revolt
today? (They view the slave revolt as an expression of the human spirit; it left a legacy of
strength.)
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Slavery, Society, and Apartheid: Teacher’s Guide
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Assessment
Use the following three-point rubric to evaluate students’ work during this lesson.
•
3 points: Students were highly engaged in class discussions; produced a complete report,
including all of the requested information; accurately summarized their partner’s report and
cited three interesting, relevant points.
•
2 points: Students participated in class discussions; produced an adequate report, including
most of the requested information; satisfactorily summarized their partner’s report and
cited two relevant points.
•
1 point: Students participated minimally in class discussions; created an incomplete report
with little or none of the requested information; were not able to summarize their partner’s
report or recall any interesting, relevant points.
Vocabulary
colony
Definition: A country or area that is ruled by another country
Context: In 1733, St. John Island was a colony of Denmark.
middle passage
Definition: The dangerous sea voyage from Africa to the Caribbean
Context: More than 11 million enslaved Africans were taken to the Americas through the middle
passage.
triangular trade
Definition: The slave trade that connected Africa, the Americas, and Europe
Context: The Danish bought slaves, with the cash they made selling Caribbean rum, in the
triangular trade.
Academic Standards
Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL)
McREL’s Content Knowledge: A Compendium of Standards and Benchmarks for K-12 Education
addresses 14 content areas. To view the standards and benchmarks, visit http://www.mcrel.org/.
This lesson plan addresses the following national standards:
•
Geography—Human Systems: Understands the nature and complexity of Earth’s cultural
mosaics, Understands the forces of cooperation and conflict that shape the divisions of
Earth’s surface
•
Language Arts—Viewing: Uses viewing skills and strategies to understand and interpret
visual media; Writing: Uses the general skills and strategies of the writing process, Gathers
and uses information for research purposes
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Slavery, Society, and Apartheid: Teacher’s Guide
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The National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS)
NCSS has developed national guidelines for teaching social studies. To become a member of NCSS,
or to view the standards online, go to http://www.socialstudies.org
This lesson plan addresses the following thematic standards:
•
Time, Continuity, and Change
•
Individuals, Groups, and Institutions
•
Power, Authority, and Governance
Support Materials
Develop custom worksheets, educational puzzles, online quizzes, and more with the free teaching tools
offered on the Discoveryschool.com Web site. Create and print support materials, or save them to a
Custom Classroom account for future use. To learn more, visit
•
http://school.discovery.com/teachingtools/teachingtools.html
DVD Content
This program is available in an interactive DVD format. The following information and activities are
specific to the DVD version.
How To Use the DVD
The DVD starting screen has the following options:
Play Video—This plays the video from start to finish. There are no programmed stops, except by
using a remote control. With a computer, depending on the particular software player, a pause
button is included with the other video controls.
Video Index—Here the video is divided into four parts (see below), indicated by video thumbnail
icons. Watching all parts in sequence is similar to watching the video from start to finish. Brief
descriptions and total running times are noted for each part. To play a particular segment, press
Enter on the remote for TV playback; on a computer, click once to highlight a thumbnail and read
the accompanying text description and click again to start the video.
Curriculum Units—These are specially edited video segments pulled from different sections of the
video (see below). These nonlinear segments align with key ideas in the unit of instruction. They
include onscreen pre- and post-viewing questions, reproduced below in this Teacher’s Guide. Total
running times for these segments are noted. To play a particular segment, press Enter on the TV
remote or click once on the Curriculum Unit title on a computer.
Standards Link—Selecting this option displays a single screen that lists the national academic
standards the video addresses.
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Slavery, Society, and Apartheid: Teacher’s Guide
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Teacher Resources—This screen gives the technical support number and Web site address.
Video Index
I. Slave Revolts (28 min.)
In 1733, African slaves began a revolt that temporarily resulted in the first black state in the
Americas. Visit St. John and learn about the famous rebellion staged there.
II. Atlantic Slave Trade (6 min.)
The Atlantic slave trade destroyed families, took lives, and forever changed the continent of Africa.
Learn about the slave trade, and hear about life below deck on the slave ships.
III. Apartheid Takes Hold (4 min.)
Introduced in the early 1900s, apartheid legally separated black South Africans from white South
African society. Explore South Africa as it was before the fall of apartheid.
IV. The End of Apartheid (4 min.)
Although apartheid is now over, its impact remains a continued threat to South Africa’s democracy.
See how protests helped bring about big changes in South Africa.
Curriculum Units
1. Sugarcane Slavery
Pre-viewing question
Q: What are some causes that you believe in?
A: Answers will vary.
Post-viewing question
Q: How do you think it felt to be sold into slavery?
A: Answers will vary.
2. The Triangular Slave Trade
Pre-viewing question
Q: What do you think one human life is worth?
A: Answers will vary.
Post-viewing question
Q: Why did the Akwamu nation enter the slave trade?
A: Akwamu leaders saw the high profits the Europeans were making from the slave trade and
wanted some of the wealth for themselves.
3. Keeping Order
Pre- What are some things people in power do to maintain order?
A: Answers will vary.
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Slavery, Society, and Apartheid: Teacher’s Guide
Post-viewing question
Q: What were some of the laws of the slave code passed by Governor Gardelin?
A: If a slave tried to poison a white person, the owner could pinch the slave three times with a redhot pincher, break the slave’s bones on a rack, and then have the slave burnt alive. Slaves who
knew that another slave planned to run away were to be burned on the forehead and then receive
100 lashes. A slave who threatened a white person was to be hanged.
4. Coordinating a Revolt
Pre-viewing question
Q: What kinds of music have been associated with revolutions?
A: Answers will vary.
Post-viewing question
Q: What was the goal of the Akwamu revolt?
A: The Akwamu planned to take over the island of St. John and rebuild their kingdom in the
Americas. All who did not agree with their revolution would be taken as slaves in their new
society.
5. The Revolution Begins
Pre-viewing question
Q: What does it take to win a revolution?
A: Answers will vary.
Post-viewing question
Q: Why do you think the rebels targeted St. John’s Garrison?
A: Answers will vary.
6. Revolution Continues
Pre-viewing question
Q: How come slaves did not always rebel or attempt to escape?
A: Answers will vary.
Post-viewing question
Q: Why did some slaves help the colonists fight the revolt?
A: Although we cannot be sure of the exact motives behind all the slaves’ actions, many slaves on
St. John had originally been enslaved by the Akwamu tribe in Africa. Other slaves may have been
motivated by loyalty and practical self-interest.
7. The First Black State
Pre-viewing question
Q: What is guerrilla warfare?
A: This type of warfare stresses deception and ambush instead of organized, mass confrontation. It
does not follow any code of conduct or typical ethics of war
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Slavery, Society, and Apartheid: Teacher’s Guide
8
Post-viewing question
Q: How did the Akwamu keep themselves in power?
A: They managed to stay in control of St. John through the winter by using guerrilla tactics to keep
planters on the defensive.
8. The Siege Ends
Pre-viewing question
Q: Do you think the leaders of the slave revolt were heroes or criminals?
A: Answers will vary.
Post-viewing question
Q: How might history be different if the slaves of St. John won the revolution?
A: Answers will vary.
9. Stolen Away
Pre-viewing question
Q: What do you think life was like for a slave on a slave ship?
A: Answers will vary.
Post-viewing question
Q: What were conditions like in the holds of slave ships?
A: They were unsanitary and unsafe. Slaves were locked together with shackles, packed tightly
together with no room to move. Many slaves died on the journey across the Atlantic.
10. The Amistad
Pre-viewing question
Q: What would you do if you were a slave given the chance to confront your captors?
A: Answers will vary.
Post-viewing question
Q: In what ways were African nations changed by slavery?
A: By the 1800s when the Atlantic slave trade came to an end, African societies had been destroyed
by depopulation and warfare due to slavery.
11. A Segregated Nation
Pre-viewing question
Q: What makes some people feel they are superior to others?
A: Answers will vary.
Post-viewing question
Q: What did apartheid laws do?
A: Apartheid was the legal segregation of racial groups in South Africa. Black South Africans were
restricted in where they could live and what jobs they could hold and were denied the right to vote
in South African elections.
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Slavery, Society, and Apartheid: Teacher’s Guide
12. Protesting for Change
Pre-viewing question
Q: What are the most effective means of protest?
A: Answers will vary.
Post-viewing question
Q: Do you think South Africa will ever fully recover from the impact of apartheid?
A: Answers will vary.
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