Abolition of slavery (1)

4: Representation and interpretation

Required Resources

• Slides 13-16
• Student Worksheet 2

Delivery

• Project Slides 13 - 16 onto the whiteboard and distribute Student Worksheet 2.
• Ask students to study each of the quotes and, working in pairs decide which of the figures listed on Student Worksheet 2 gave each quote. Quotes are from the following:
  • Slide 13: Olaudah Equiano (an African writer whose experiences as a slave prompted him to become involved in the British abolition movement)
  • Slide 14: Thomas Fowell Buxton (anti-slavery campaigner)
  • Slide 15: John Pinney (sugar merchant and plantation owner)
  • Slide 16: Captain Hon. Joseph Denman (placed in command of the West Africa Squadron's ship, HMS Wanderer, in 1839)
• Ask students to fill in Student Worksheet 2 with their answers.
• Ask students to consider and discuss John Pinney's justification for his role in slavery.
• These quotes can be used to demonstrate the existence of bias and distortion in historical texts and documents.
• Students should analyse and evaluate the usefulness of sources based on Nature, Origin and Purpose / cross-referencing different interpretations.

Differentiation

Lower Ability:

Students can be encouraged to work in mixed ability pairs to complete this activity.