The triangular slave trade worked by British ships transporting goods from Europe to West Africa, where they acquired slaves. The ships then carried the enslaved Africans across the Atlantic Ocean to the Americas, where the slaves were sold. The ships then returned to Europe carrying goods like sugar and tobacco. Conditions on the slave ships were terrible, with millions of Africans dying before and during the grueling Middle Passage. Planters, merchants, ship owners, and those in related industries benefited most economically from the slave trade. Abolitionists like William Wilberforce and campaigns showing the horrors of the slave trade helped end the practice, with Britain officially abolishing the slave trade in 1807.

1. The Atlantic
slave trade
Year 7 project

2. Learning objectives
To understand:
• How the triangular trade worked
• What conditions were like for slaves on
the slave ships
• Who benefited from the trade
• How and why it ended

3. Introduction
• British ships transported 2.6 million slaves. It
has been estimated overall, about 12 million
Africans were captured to be taken to the
Americas as slaves.
• Unknown millions died in Africa before they even
made it to the ships.
• It has been estimated that perhaps 1/5 of the
slaves died on the Middle Passage across the
Atlantic.
Class clips videos http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/topics/z2qj6sg/resources/2

4. Instructions
You are going to create a booklet (A3 sheet
folded in half) about the slave trade, using
new knowledge and what you learnt on
the trip to Bristol
Wherever possible, include anything your
learned from the trip

5. Page 1 - Title page
Create a title page for your project
It must include the following information:
• Slave trade project
• Your name
• A picture linked to slavery
• Facts from the trip

6. Ideas for pictures

7. Page 2 - The triangular trade
Label your own copy of this map under the heading

9. Page 2 continued
• The slaves ships sailed from countries in Europe
such as the UK, with _____________.
• They sailed [north/south/east] to the west coast
of Africa.
• They then picked up slaves and sailed across
the _____________ Ocean towards
__________ America. The slaves were then
offloaded.
• The ships then picked up goods like _________
and _________, then returned to the UK.
Copy and complete these sentences below your map

10. Page 3
What were conditions like for the slave on the ships?
Cut out the picture below and stick under your heading for page 3

11. Page 3 continued
Conditions on the ships were terrible, for example….
This meant that….
Also….
As a result….
In addition….
Therefore….
Copy and complete these sentences below your picture of the ship

12. Page 4
Who benefited most from the slave trade?
Cut out this table and glue under your page 4 heading

13. Page 4
Who benefited most from the slave trade?
https://prezi.com/zajzjy5elrgt/who-benefited-the-most-from-the-slave-trade-and-w
Open the presentation using an ipad
and use it to fill in your table about
each person

14. Page 4
How and why did the slave trade end?
• In 1787, the Committee for the Abolition of the
Slave Trade was set up. William Wilberforce was
the leader.
• Thomas Clarkson went on a speaking tour,
showing people chains and irons and a model of
a slave ship. He did this so that…
• Campaigners published leaflets describing
conditions on the Middle Passage so that….
Copy and complete the sentences showing what people did which helped
end the slave trade, write them in under the heading in your project.

15. Page 4 continued
• 1806: Law bans British ships from carrying
slaves to French colonies
• 1788: The Dolben Act limited the number of
slaves a ship could carry
• 1807: Abolition of the slave trade (British
Parliament)
• 1789: Wilberforce presented a bill for slave trade
abolition
• 1772: A judge, Lord Mansfield, ruled that slavery
was illegal in England
Write out these key dates in chronological order

16. Extension task
Create a fact file about abolition
campaigners Hannah More or William
Wilberforce
Include:
• Picture
• Important dates (born, died etc)
• What he/she did in their life