Web Resources for the Middle Passage:  The Human Experience on the Triangular Trade Route

AHTC Focus Workshop

April 19, 2008

Website:	Description:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/home.html PBS – African Slave Trade	This website is designed to go along with the video that we saw a clip of this morning. Each part of the video series and the website includes a historical narrative, a resource bank with many images, and a teachers’ guide.
http://www.understandingslavery.com/index.php?option=com_theme&view=themes&Itemid=27 http://www.understandingslavery.com/index.php?option=com_theme&view= detail&id=48&Itemid=27 Understanding Slavery	This site contains quite a bit of background information and an overview of the Middle Passage. You can go straight to the background information with your students, or head to the activities near the bottom of the page. These activities contain quotes, lesson plans, primary documents, and even video of students performing a radio play about the Middle Passage.
http://hitchcock.itc.virginia.edu/Slavery/index.php The Atlantic Slave Trade and Slave Life in the Americas: A Visual Record	This project of the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities and the Digital Media Lab at the University of Virginia contains approximately 1,235 images that have been pulled from a range of sources, most of them dating from the period of slavery.  Click “Explore the Collection” to select a category such as, “Maps:  Africa, New World, Slave Trade”, “Pre-Colonial Africa:  Society, Polity, Culture”, “Capture of Slaves in Africa” and many more.
http://www.marinersmuseum.org/sites/micro/captivepassage/index.html The Mariner’s Museum	A good site for your older students, this site begins with an introduction to slavery in general, then proceeds to the slaves’ “departure” from Africa, and moves into the Middle Passage. Your students can read about sailing and storms, stowage, illness and death on the route, etc.
http://www.slavevoyages.org/tast/index.faces The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Database	This database has information on over 35,000 voyages. If you click on “Educational Materials,” you’ll find lesson plans, maps to teach the geography of the slave trade, and a glossary. The “Resources” link contains numerous images. (However, I couldn’t get one of the “images” links to work – you’ll need to try the little font at the top of the screen!)
http://www.slaveryinamerica.org/geography/slave_trade.htm Slavery in America	This site contains many resources for your students studying the transatlantic slave trade. This particular link opens up to a fairly detailed map, and you can also find lessons, essays, and other teacher resources.
http://www.upf.tv/upf06/Films/PrinceAmongSlaves/tabid/77/Default.aspx Prince Among Slaves	The companion website to the video we watched today. This true heir to a West African nation, enslaved for 40 years, eventually became the most famous African in America.
http://old.antislavery.org/breakingthesilence/educationproject.shtmll Breaking the Silence: Learning about the Transatlantic Slave Trade	While this site also has a downloadable briefing and a teaching guide, you will find other links along the left hand side for more information on slave ships, the Middle Passage, and slave revolts.
http://www.pbs.org/wonders/fr_e3.htm PBS: Wonders of the African World	In this section of the PBS site, "Slave Kingdoms: Confronting the Legacy of the Slave Trade," you'll find information on West Africa, the trans-atlantic slave trade, and historical roots of racial discrimination in the United States. Click on "Retelling" to find video clips with Henry Louis Gates and those he interviews about the slave trade.
http://ancienthistory.pppst.com/africa.html Ancient Africa	Free presentations in PowerPoint format for K-12 students. Topics include Kingdoms of Africa, Major Trade Routes, African and the Slave Trade, and many others.
http://exploringafrica.matrix.msu.edu/students/curriculum/m7a/activity3.php Exploring Africa	A classroom activity for students, introducing them to three of the great kingdoms of West Africa. This section includes a short text on each kingdom as well as follow-up questions for a class discussion.
http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/amistad/AMISTD.HTM Famous Trials	While later than the Middle Passage era we’re addressing today, this compelling court case has interest to students and adults alike.
http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/amistad/ National Archives and Records Administration	One of our partners, the National Archives and Records Administration, has a lesson plan for students that addresses the Amistad case. You’ll find teaching activities, a document analysis worksheet, and documents such as the Supreme Court decision.
http://edsitement.neh.gov/view_lesson_plan.asp?id=308 Edsitement Lesson Plan – the Amistad Revolt	This lesson plan from Edsitement focuses on Cinque, the leader of the 1839 Amistad revolt.