Is this an accurate description of slave life? Source 1Account of a slave auction. Taken from William Wilberforce, A Letter on the Abolition of the Slave Trade, addressed to the freeholders and other inhabitants of Yorkshire, London, 1807.
Your task is to decide whether Washington’s description of slave life is accurate or not. The sources in this investigation have been chosen to help you in this task. Once you have read the source and thought about the things to consider, you might find it helpful to make some notes on the worksheet. Things to consider… What, according to Mr Edwards, is the worst thing about a slave auction? What do you think is the worst thing about a slave auction? Why would Wilberforce include this description in his Letter? What effect do you think he wanted? Is this an accurate description of slave life? Source 2Account of slave life by Mr Thomas. Taken from Abridgement of the Minutes of Evidence taken before a Committee considering the Slave Trade, 1789.
Your task is to decide whether Washington’s description of slave life is accurate or not. The sources in this investigation have been chosen to help you in this task. Once you have read the source and thought about the things to consider, you might find it helpful to make some notes on the worksheet. Things to consider… Work out how many hours Mr Thomas says the slaves in Nevis work on an a average day? Do you think that this is accurate? Does Mr Thomas think that the food supplies given to the slaves is sufficient? On the basis of this evidence, what do you think Mr Thomas thinks about slavery? Is this an accurate description of slave life? Source 3Evidence of Mr Francis regarding the treatment of slaves. Taken from The Debate on a Motion for the Abolition of the Slave Trade, 1791.
Your task is to decide whether Washington’s description of slave life is accurate or not. The sources in this investigation have been chosen to help you in this task. Once you have read the source and thought about the things to consider, you might find it helpful to make some notes on the worksheet. Things to consider… Do you think that the punishments described by Francis are typical of those used on slaves? Apart from punishing the individual slave in question, can you think of any other reasons why an owner or overseer would behave like this? What do you think of the jury’s explanation of why they acquitted the man charged with murder? Is this an accurate description of slave life? Source 4Description of an atypical slaveowner. Taken from Olaudah Equiano, The Interesting Narrative of the life of Olaudah Equiano or Gustavus Vassa as written by himself, London, 1789.
Your task is to decide whether Washington’s description of slave life is accurate or not. The sources in this investigation have been chosen to help you in this task. Once you have read the source and thought about the things to consider, you might find it helpful to make some notes on the worksheet. Things to consider… What do you think Equiano means by a ‘common slave’? Does this source tell you anything about Equiano’s opinion of himself? Do you think Mr King’s tactic of treating slaves well would be more or less effective in terms of slave management than ill-treating them? In what ways do you think slave life would be different under Mr King than under a more typical slave owner? |
