Curated OER
Two Views of the Slave Ship Brookes
Actual ship diagrams and a table of voyage data gives young historians an authentic glimpse of on-board experiences during the Atlantic Slave Trade. The class examines a projected diagram of the slave ship Brooks, recording thoughts....
Curated OER
Many Passages: The Voyage of the Slave Ship Brookes
Examine three perspectives of the slave trade - captain, sailor, and captive - through this collaborative analysis activity. Small groups study one perspective with a primary source to analyze. They discern what is a historical fact and...
Curated OER
The Glory Field
Students examine the power of inner strength and fimily ties as they read through Walter Dean Myers' story, "The Glory Field." Milestones in African-American history become the focus of this lesson plan.
US National Archives
Nara: Teaching With Documents: The Amistad Case
The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) provides background information for the Amistad case, several of the actual documents involved in the case, and teaching activities that correlate the information (at the bottom of...
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...
Curated OER
National Park Service: The Amistad Story
This highly informative site presents the story of the Amistad and the Mende Africans' legal battle and quest for freedom in Connecticut. Highlights the key players and the places they stayed at and attended.
PBS
Africans in America: Equiano's Autobiography
From a larger site from PBS' Africans in America, blurb about Olaudah Equiano and his autobiography with a link to text of this historical document.
PBS
Africans in America: Living Africans Thrown Overboard
This site is provided for by PBS. In order to receive insurance money, a captain ordered 132 slaves thrown overboard alive. The case went to court, and a landmark decision was made that the Africans on the ship were actually people.
PBS
Africans in America: Interior of a Slave Ship
This site describes how slaves were packed in the ships with barely enough room to sit or move, to maximize capacity.
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.
Ibis Communications
Eyewitness to History: Aboard a Slave Ship, 1829
A historically significant account of what Reverend Robert Walsh observed on a slave ship off the African coast in 1829.
Smithsonian Institution
National Portrait Gallery: The Amistad Case:
Pictures and text from the Smithsonian Institute about the 1839 slave rebellion on the slave ship, The Amistad and the ensuing trial of the 36 Africans involved in the rebellion.
National Museums Liverpool
International Slavery Museum: Slaves' Stories
An intriguing resource that gives first hand accounts of four Africans being taken from their homes and forced into slavery. Click on the pictures of the people to read their unbelievable stories and see artifacts about slavery.
University of Missouri
Famous Trials: Amistad Trials: Biography of Joseph Cinque
A biographical sketch of Joseph Cinque, a leader of the Amistad Revolt. An interesting note is an observation by a phrenologist concerning his determination of Cinque's character by examining his head.
British Library
British Library: Discovering Literature: The Rise of Consumerism
With the increasing variety in clothes, food, and household items, shopping became an important cultural activity in the 18th century. This article describes buying and selling during this period and explains the connection between many...
PBS
Africans in America: Olaudah Equiano
This site from PBS' Africans in America series provides a biography of Olaudah Equiano, one of the many Africans forced to travel the Middle Passage. Links to related entries.
Cornell University
Cornell University: Law School: Amistad Revolt
This site from the Cornell University School of Law provides a brief description of what happened during the Amistad Revolt and gives details concerning the Supreme Court that followed.
BBC
Bbc: Historic Figures: Olaudah Equiano
A brief biography of Olaudah Equiano, an African who is famous for writing a narrative of his life as a slave, sailor, writer, Englishman, Christian, and abolitionist. Archived.
Curated OER
Harper's Weekly: Slave Trade: Slave Ship
African captives aboard the deck of a slave ship.