Abolition of slavery (2)

4: Abolition - not the end?

Required Resources

• Slides 11-17
• Student Worksheet 2

Delivery

• Slides 11-12 explain that slavery did not end with the Act and that enforcement of the Act was a long-running battle for the Royal Navy's West Africa Squadron.
• Further background information relating to the Royal Navy West Africa Squadron can be found in the teacher support notes. It should be communicated that the treatment of the slaves witnessed by crew and the spread of disease and boredom caused by long periods waiting to intercept a slave ship meant that crew morale was incredibly low.
• Slides 13-17 contain information and extracts from the diary of Cheesman Henry Binstead which particularly focus on life in the Squadron.
• Distribute Student Worksheet 2. This contains background information about the Royal Navy West Africa Squadron which students can retain and an activity relating to an incident involving a medic on-board HMS Sybille.
• Students should be encouraged to write down their responses and (once completed) share their thoughts with the rest of the class.

Differentiation

Lower Ability:

The Worksheet can be completed in mixed ability pairs to aid differentiation.

Higher Ability:

Students can be asked to write a diary from the perspective of an enslaved African on the days leading up to and including his liberation by the West African Squadron.