Digital History
The Slave Trade
When studying the slave trade in early American and world history, use this document to expose your learners to the abhorrent conditions that existed on slave ships. Read through two first-person accounts of the enslavement process,...
Curated OER
Stowage of the British slave ship Brookes under the Regulated Slave Trade Act of 1788
In this primary source analysis worksheet, students analyze the diagram of regulated slave trade cargo. Students respond to 2 short answer questions about the diagram.
Curated OER
The Middle Passage
Fifth graders explore slavery conditions by viewing a video clip on the Internet. In this slave ship lesson, 5th graders discuss the transportation of black men and women from Africa to the United States in the 1700's and how poor the...
Curated OER
Sunken Slave Ship
Students imagine they are archaeologists who are looking for treasure under the sand or sea. They work in teams to create the story and site of a shipwreck in a tub or aquarium filled with sand and water.
Curated OER
Middle Passage Crossword
In this crossword puzzle worksheet, students read 9 clues related to the African slave trade and the middle passage. Students complete the crossword by solving the clues.
Brown University
Brown University Library: Voyage of the Slave Ship Sally: 1764 65
Providence, Rhode Island's Nicholas Brown and Company owned a slave ship, Sally. Sally is documented for many trips to Africa to pick up slaves. The slaves would be delivered to Caribbean Islands in exchange for sugar and molasses to...
Hanover College
Hanover College: Slave Narrative of Olaudah Equiano Vol. 1
The complete text of a famous slave narrative from the late 18th century (1789), it tells the story on how Equiano is captured in Africa, transported to the Americas and his experiences as a slave. It provides rich details about the...
Smithsonian Institution
National Museum of American History: Forced Crossings
The Atlantic slave trade was the largest forced migration of people in history. A view into the world of the slave ships with accompanying photos of artifacts and documents are included in this exhibit.
Other
Rothman and Burdumy: Trans Atlantic Slave Trade Visualization
Time-lapsed heatmap visualization of the Trans Atlantic Slave Trade. Data from Transatlantic Slave Trade Database mapped in a three-part depiction of voyages, ship disembarkment location and ship arrival location in the Americas.
Other
Slave Images: Atlantic Slave Trade and Slave Life in the Americas
This site has thousand of photos, drawings, and prints dealing with slavery, most of them dating from the period of Atlantic slave trade and slavery in the Americas.
PBS
Pbs: Cet: Africans in America: The Middle Passage
This website contains pictures and descriptions of the Middle Passage voyage. Click on Teacher's Guide for teacher resources.
![Digital History: The Slave Trade [Pdf] Website](https://static.lp.lexp.cloud/images/attachment_defaults/resource/large/FPO-knovation.png "Digital History: The Slave Trade [Pdf] Website")
Digital History
Digital History: The Slave Trade [Pdf]
Read Olaudah Equiano's account of being captured in his village in Africa, and placed on a slave ship to be taken to America. He describes the middle passage of the triangular trade route, as well as the leg from Europe to Africa. [pdf]
Yale University
Yale New Haven Teachers Institute: Black Emancipators of the 19th Century
A lesson unit on the people and movements that fought to abolish slavery. Looks at the Triangular Trade, and at the Underground Railroad and famous abolitionists. Includes a play about emancipation, a black history rap and a trivia quiz...
PBS
Pbs: Cet: Africans in America: The Threat of Fasting During the Middle Passage
Description of how slaves tried to starve themselves to death on slave ships as a form of resistance, and how the slave traders forced them to eat so they would not lose money. Click on Teacher's Guide for teaching resources.
Other
Mel Fisher Maritime Heritage Society: The Henrietta Marie
Description and pictures of what was found on the shipwreck, the Henrietta Marie. This ship contained many important objects from the early years of the slave trade.
Understanding Slavery Initiative
Understanding Slavery Initiative: Atlantic Crossing
Discover the period some refer to as "Middle Passage," when enslaved Africans were transported across the Atlantic Ocean to the Caribbean or America. Read first-hand accounts of the torture and deprivation experienced by thousands of...
Understanding Slavery Initiative
Understanding Slavery Initiative: Atlantic Crossing: Slave Forts Case Study
Find out about the disparity between the castle-like headquarters of slave forts and the deplorable conditions in which enslaved Africans lived while waiting to be transported by slave ship to the Americas.
Understanding Slavery Initiative
Understanding Slavery: Atlantic Crossing: First Hand Accounts Case Study
Read eye-witness accounts of the brutality and cruelty suffered by enslaved Africans as they traveled across the Atlantic on slave ships.
Other
Read Works: Mali & African Empires: The African Slave Trade [Pdf]
[Free Registration/Login Required] An informational text about the African slave trade. A question sheet is available to help students build skills in reading comprehension.
Other
Juneteenth: The Middle Passage
Moving description of the Middle Passage and African American trauma through the perspective of the artist, Tom Feelings.
British Library
British Library: Discovering Literature: Britain's Involvement With New World Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade
With a focus on the 17th and 18th centuries, this article traces the history of Britain's large-scale involvement in the enslavement of Africans and the transatlantic slave trade.
British Library
British Library: Discovering Literature: African Writers and Black Thought in 18th Century Britain
This article describes how four writers, taken from Africa as children and sold into slavery, grew up to write works that challenged British ideas about race, called for African brotherhood, and demanded the abolition of the slave trade.
Ohio State University
Osu History Teaching Institute: Slave Ships
After analyzing the engraving and accompanying text, students will discuss the point of view of the resources using a compare and contrast diagram.
BBC
Bbc: Simon Schama's Power of Art: Turner
From the BBC's documentary series "Simon Schama's Power of Art," find a synopsis of the broadcast on the English master J. M. W. Turner.