Year 8 History Workbook – British Empire and Transatlantic slave trade

All activities are highlighted in blue

Writing structure and guidance is in purple

Useful links to assist learning:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zf7fr82/revision/1

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zcss7hv/revision/1

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Task 1 List as many of the reasons why Britain wanted an Empire that you can remember from your previous lessons.

Task 2 Read through the information below and then answer the questions.Why Britain grew its empire:From around 1793 the British began to expand its empire and influence all across the world. By 1850 the British had the biggest empire at the time and one of the largest empires ever in history. There were a number of reasons why the British began to grow its empire. One reason was that with a large empire came more power. Ruling countries meant you had access to the population which you could make work or fight for you. The British used soldiers from across the Empire during wartime. An empire also helped the British Economy in two main ways. Firstly, it provided the British with access to resources that their colonies had such as cotton. These goods can then be used in British factories to make goods, which can then be sold back to the colonies. Accesses to resources and trade was certainly one of the main reasons why Britain grew such a vast empire.

Lesson 1: Reasons for an Empire. LO: To revise the main reasons why Britain This term we will be focusing on revising and cementing our learning from school this year so far. For this term Year 8 will be focusing on the British Empire and the Transatlantic Slave Trade.

This lesson you are going to reinvestigate the main reasons why Britain wanted an Empire. There are a number of reasons why an Empire was so desirable such as enormous wealth. As well as this their was a sense of rivalry with the other main European powers of the time such as the French and Spanish.

Society and culture during the 1800s and early 1900s were also very different to today. National status in Europe came from ruling the most land. European powers literally competed for certain areas to rules such as Africa and the West indies. Furthermore, there were some people who argued that certain nations or places such as Africa needed the British to help them. This was also a very useful way of justifying an empire to the few people who did question British motives. It was argued that it was the British duty to civilise these people. Some people also felt compelled to spread the Christian faith across the world.

How did an Empire give Britain more power?___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________How did getting an Empire help the British Economy? ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________What social or religious duties did some people think the British had?___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________How was having an empire competitive? ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________How did an Empire make the British military stronger? ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Task 3 read through sources and colour code them for evidence for each reason the British wanted an Empire. Then fill in the table with evidence for each factor. Source B, has been completed as an example.

Factor EvidencePower Having lots of land made

countries more powerful and increased their global status. The British competed to have the most land with other countries such as in Africa when almost all of the country was colonised from 1870-1914.

Military

Social

Economy/Trade

Source AI am having the most wonderful time on my mission to Africa. We have been building a small chapel in a village. We have also been trying to spread the world of the gospel to these people by reading from the bible. Extract of letter sent from a Christian missionary to his motherSource BHaving more land was essential to global power at this time. The British, French and Belgium were especially committed to this competition. The clearest example of the importance of this can be seen with Scramble for Africa. In 1870 only 10% of Africa was ruled by an Empire. By 1914 however there were only three independent nations left and 90% of the country was ruled by a European power. Article on European influence in AfricaSource C Having an empire gave the British, a relatively small island access to a massive global population. One of the main ways the British used their colonial people was through the military. The British used thousands of people from their colonies to fight for them. In both WW1 and WW2 for example thousands of Indian people helped fight for the British. Indeed, without access to their empire the British may not have been so fortunate to win both wars. Extract from a book on the British Empire by Historian Paul Hickling Source D

Access to raw resources is vital to our Empire. Colonies such Jamaica in the West Indies allowed the British to access and use resources we would could never get at home. Through the west indies for example the British made millions by growing and selling sugar.Extract from an MPs speech on the value of the Empire Source EI believe it is through education that we must spread our civilising influence over the world. I am so proud the be part of a nation that builds schools almost wherever we colonise! By doing so we can improve local conditions I am sure of it. Diary of a missionary in BarbadosSource F The empire had huge value to the British economy. It allowed firstly the British to sell and trade more which encourages industry at home and economic growth. As well as this it also gave the British access to the colonies as places to trade their finished goods with. Article on British trade history Source GA stronger military also directly helped the British economy. It meant Britain could ensure peace in nations such as India were lords and princes often fought for rule. This allowed trade to continue and be encouraged, war is never good for trade!BBC History articleSource H The empire greatly increased British status as it was the biggest European empires the British had enormous influence. They became one of the ‘great powers.’

Task 4: Rank each factor from most to least significant. Write a brief sentence why.

Final Task Answer the question below:Which factor do you think was the most significant reason why the British wanted an Empire?

1. Identify which factor you think is the most significant 2. Provide evidence on why it was important or what the

British did.3. Explain why you think this is the most significant factor.

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Task 1: Write what impact you can remember that the British had on India.Task 2: Read through the cards and summarise the information into the table to show the advantages and disadvantages of the British in India for both the British and Indians. Advantages for Britain

Advantages for India

Disadvantages for India

Lesson 2: The British in India LO: To reassess if the British had a positive or

This lesson we are going to re-examine the British rule in India. By 1857 Britain had established a dominant control over India.

Historians have studied the British rule of India and questioned it as a primary case study for an assessment on the impact on the empire as a whole. Many traditional historians argued that the British bought trade and connection with the world. However, many have also questioned if this was worth the sacrifice of so much death and misery caused by the British.

In this lesson you are going to make your own assessment on the British impact on India.

Public health and life expectancy improved under the British rule. The British improved water conditions and had treatments for illnesses like malaria.

The British people got access to new types of things such as tea and spices.

Task 3: Answer the questions below. What do you think was the most significant advantage the British had from India? ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The British used wealth from India to invest into Britain. They spent £400 million of Indian profits on the British coal industry.

The British traded goods from Indian with Europe to increase their statues and wealth.

The British built 2,300 miles of roads and 2,900 miles of railway in India.

Many local Indians worked with the English and were able to make their own profit trading with the East India Company.

The British took complete control over India. If a lord died without an heir, the British would take control of the land. The ruling classes India began to feel powerless and unhappy.

Compared to how much money they made, the British actually invested very little in India. Plus the things they did make like roads and railways could all be used to help control India by moving soldiers.

The British spent 40% of Indian wealth on the military in India. This army was then used to fight wars all across the globe.

British rule was stern, and they killed anyone who opposed them. Life for ordinary people was often hard, the British charged high tax rates and rent. They also encouraged people to grow cotton, not food this meant that cotton prices dropped the people would have no money and no food. Famines were common under British ruler and millions of Indians starved to death.

Britain began to control all of Indian life. English became the official language and local culture and religion was pushed out to help force Christianity.

What do you think the most positive impact the British had on India was? ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________What do you think the biggest disadvantage was?___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Final Task: Answer the question below: ‘Overall the British had a positive impact on India’ Do you agree?

1. Identify if you agree or not. 2. Give evidence and reasons why you agree or disagree.3. Explain was this make you agree/disagree.

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Lesson 3 – The Transatlantic Slave Trade

Task one: use the information below to label the triangle slave trade diagram below.

Label the name of the continent in the Green Boxes

In each numbered blue box, write what happens at each stage. Box 1 is the start of the journey.

Add arrows to show the movement of the slave traders across the sea.

LO: To identify and describe features of the Trans-Atlantic Slave trade.

Background information

The slave trade began with Portuguese (and some Spanish) traders, taking mainly West African (but some Central African) slaves to the American colonies they had conquered in the 15th century. British sailors became involved in the trade in the 16th century. The slave trade made a great deal of profit for those who sold and exchanged slaves. Therefore, they often ignored the fact it was inhuman and unfair. At least 12 million Africans were taken to the Americas as slaves between 1532 and 1832 and at least a third of them in British ships. For the British slave traders it was a three-legged journey called the Transatlantic Slave Trade/Triangle which included:

The British travelling to Africa and West African slaves were exchanged for trade goods such as brandy and guns.

Slaves were then taken via the ‘Middle Passage’ across the Atlantic for sale in the West Indies and North America.

Finally, a cargo of rum and sugar taken from the colonies, was taken back to England to sell.

Europe - Britain

In Europe a group of rich business men would get together and buy or rent a ship.

They load the ship with goods popular in Africa such as cloth, guns, iron pots and pans, cheap bracelets, swords, kettles, alcohol.

The slave ship will then set off from Liverpool, Glasgow or Bristol, carrying the trade goods and sailed to West Africa.

West Africa

When the British get to West Africa, some slaves are captured directly by the British traders. They ambushed and captured local people in Africa.

Most slave ships got their slaves from British people, who lived full-time in Africa and bought slaves from local tribal chiefs. The chiefs would raid a rival village and sell their captured enemies as slaves to the British living there.

The rest of the slaves come from the exchange of the goods they bought from England on their ships with the Tribal Chiefs. In 1700, a slave cost about £3-worth of traded goods, e.g. cloth, guns, gunpowder and brandy.

The slaves were marched to the coast in chained lines called coffles, where they were held in prisons called 'factories'.

North America, South America or West Indies

The slave ship then takes a two month journey and sails across the Atlantic Ocean to the West Indies, North America or South America – this leg of the journey is called the 'Middle Passage'.

In the West Indies the slaves are cleaned up and are sold at an auction to farmers called a 'scramble'. Some were sent to 'seasoning camps' to be trained to obey, often using brutal methods.

The selling price of a slave in the West Indies in 1700 was £20, so there was a good profit to be had, which made the risks of long journeys and possible harsh weather worthwhile.

Some ships, then loaded up with sugar, cotton, tobacco and rum to sell in Britain, before making the voyage back home. The slave traders sell the goods to the cotton wearing, sugar loving, tobacco smoking public and make another huge profit.

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Task 2: complete the multiple choice questions

Which place did the slavers set sail from first?

America Europe Africa

Slaves were traded in Africa for...

Cloth, guns, iron pots and pans, cheap bracelets, swords, kettles and alcohol

Money and slaves Sugar, cotton and tobacco

What is the second part of the Journey known as?

The triple passage The second passage The middle passage

Which 3 places were slaves sold in?

Asia, Antarctica, Australia North America, South America, Caribbean.

Birmingham, Coventry, London

Task 3 Describe two features of the Transatlantic Slave Triangle(4)

Remember to identify a feature and then describe it in detail

Feature one:

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Feature 2:

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Lesson 4: The Middle Passage

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LO: To analyse sources to describe the middle passage for slaves.

Background InformationThe journey from Africa to the New World of the Americas was called the Middle Passage. Slave ships usually took between six and eleven weeks to complete the voyage. Slave ships made large profits by carrying as many slaves as possible across the Atlantic to sell at auction. Therefore, slaves were often tightly packed onto the ship to hold as many possible. It was expected that some would die but a large number would survive the voyage. A ship’s hold was cramped - only five feet high, with a shelf running round the edge to carry yet more slaves. The slaves were loaded in so close together that one captain described them as being 'like books on a shelf'. The

Task one: read and analyse the sources and give one thing you can infer from each source about the middle passage. An example has been done for you.

Source A: A drawing of the layout of the hold of a boat (below the deck of the boat). The slaves are packed in tightly to ensure the maximum amount of slaves (average 454 slaves) can be transported.

What I can infer:

One thing I can infer from source A about the Middle passage is that slaves were very tightly packed into the bottom of the boat to maximise profit.

Evidence to support this:

In source A I can see that the slaves are lay down shoulder to shoulder very tightly, there is no wasted space. – remember text must be a quote and a picture, describe what you see.

What I can infer:__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Evidence to support this:

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Source 2: A drawing of slaves being forced to exercise on the deck of the slave ship. The slaves were forced to exercise to ensure they stayed fit and healthy for sale once they reach the Americas.

What I can infer:___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Evidence to support this:

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What I can infer:___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Evidence to support this:

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Source 3: An account from Zamba Zembola, a slave telling his story of the middle

passage.

After being about 15 days out to sea a heavy squall struck the ship. The poor slaves below… were mostly thrown to the side, where they lay heaped on the top of each other; their fetters [handcuffs] made many of them helpless, and before they could be… relived from their pressure on each other, it was found that 15 of them were suffocated or crushed to death. The captain seemed considerably angry; but the only complaint to him was the sudden loss of some five or six thousand dollars.

Source 4: Alexander Falconbridge, a surgeon who served on a number of slave ships

The floor was covered with blood and mucus and resembled a slaughterhouse. After fifteen minutes, I was so overcome by the heat, stench and foul air that I nearly fainted. The slave’s meals consist chiefly of horse beans, boiled to a pulp; of boiled yams and rice.

What I can infer:___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Evidence to support this:

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What I can infer:___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Evidence to support this:

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Source 5: A modern HistorianThe journey across the Atlantic was horrible. Millions of slaves died before ever seeing the Americas. They were branded like cattle, chained together in tens by their necks, hands and feet and packed into a dark stinking hold. They did this to ensure they could not rebel or escape. The journey lasted 12 weeks, and diseases such as dysentery spread easily. It was common for the dead to be left below deck for a number of days, chained to the living.

Source 6: A drawing of the

shackles used to keep slaves in

the hold of the boat.

How many slaves did one ship carry?

454 slaves 464 slaves 474 slaves

The journey on the ship lasted between...

8 weeks 120 weeks 12 weeks

Why were slaves forced to exercise?

To keep them healthy For fun Because the slaves wanted to

How were slaves stored on the ships?

In chains, in a very small space, below deck

Free to move around the boat as they please

Below deck in family units.

Task 2: complete the multiple choice quiz

Task 3: Explain two reasons why the Middle Passage was terrible for the slaves.

Remember the structure: identify, describe and explain.

Example sentence starters:

One reason the middle passage was terrible for slaves was due to …During the middle passage, slaves would….Therefore, it would be terrible as…

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Lesson 5: Slave resistance

Key Words:

Passive Resistance – Non-violent opposition to authority often done in secrecy.

Active Resistance – Violent and upfront opposition to authority.

LO: To identify and describe features of slave resistance.

Background InformationSlave resistance took many forms, some individual, and some collective. They resisted capture and imprisonment, attacked slave ships from the shore and engaged in shipboard revolts, fighting to free themselves and others. On the plantations, resistance reduced profitability. Enslaved Africans tried to slow down the pace of work through pretending illness or breaking tools and they ran away whenever possible, escaping to South America, England or North America. Some escaped Africans, like the Maroons in Jamaica, formed groups that attacked plantations. No matter what punishments were carried out, or how many harsh laws were passed to control them,

Task 1: using the list of ways slaves resisted, categorise them into Passive Resistance and Active Resistance.

Poisoning the masters

Running away Pretending to be mad.

Setting fire to the owner’s house

Injuring plantation animals

Fighting with the overseer.

Poisoning the crops

Pretending to be sick

Women slaves flirting with the overseer to get out of work.

Rebelling and taking weapons to fight the slave owners

Working slowly Destroying farming equipment and tools

Passive Resistance Active resistance.

Task 2: Religious resistance. Read the information and answer the following questions.

Slaves were forbidden to read the Bible other than the parts they had been taught by the overseers or the owners. Slaves were also not allowed to continue on any of their African traditions. Slave owners specifically read parts of the bible that state that keeping slaves is allowed.

For example: “Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ; not with eye-service, as men-pleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart; with good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men: knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free.” - Paul’s Epistle to the Ephesians, VI, 5-7.

Although this passage does not mention slaves, slave owners used it to teach slaves that being slaves or servants to their masters was what God wants. “Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters“.

However, slaves also used the bible as a form of resistance. They would hold secret meetings at night to meet and read the bible. For example the story of Moses, requesting the Egyptian Pharaoh to “let his people go”, followed by the plagues of God, showed slaves that God did not approve of slavery. Another passage read by slaves would be: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28).

However, slave owners, introduced a new form of bible known as the “slave bible”. In this bible large sections of teachings or stories were removed, leaving only the passages which could be related to how keeping slaves is accepted in the eyes of God. this was to encourage slaves to accept their place as a slave in the eyes of God.

For most slaves the bible became a powerful tool in their resistance. Jesus for example was a champion of the downtrodden or oppressed. Jesus would often help and perform miracles for the people “at the bottom” of society. Jesus himself lived a life of prejudice and discrimination.

The bible provided a base of unity in their resistance to the oppressive masters. A lot of popular culture today is rooted in slave religion and culture. Traditional R&B (Rhythm and blues) and gospel music originates itself from slave resistance. In fact modern Rock and Roll can be traced back to slaves singing biblical songs on plantations.

Why were slaves forbidden to read the bible?

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Why did slave owners read the passage from Paul’s Epistle to the Ephesians to their slaves?___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________How did slaves resist using the bible?___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________What story gave slaves hope that God was on their side? Explain why______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________How did slave owners try and stop slaves reading parts of the bible which would give them hope of freedom?___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qq_qnLHf74 – I love blues music, a lot. (Mr Pritchard) This is a documentary showing how slavery and slave culture led to one most influential music movements in American history.

Task 3: Describe 2 features of slave resistance. Remember to identify a feature and then describe it in detail

Feature one:

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Feature 2:

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