Problem
A. This is a watercolor painting made in South Carolina sometime around 1785. What can we learn from works of art such as this? Do you think it is an accurate or inaccurate portrait of life for enslaved people? What are the pros and cons of paintings as primary sources?
B. In what ways was the "Atlantic World" connected? What was the basis of these connections?
C. What, in your view, are some of the patterns and systems that were established in this era that remain important today?
D. How did the institution of slavery evolve in this period? What role did slavery come to play in the British colonies?
E. How did American ideas of race evolve during this period? What were the racial categories that were constructed, and how was race defined?
F. The website Slave Voyages uses historical documents to examine the history of the slave trade. Browse the site to learn more about the history of the Middle Passage. What was the Middle Passage?
G. What is your reaction to this image? (Slaveshipposter)
H. What is your reaction to this image? (ElMina AtlasBlaeuvanderHem)
I. What role did gender play in the development of slavery in the British colonies? (For many white colonists, the association of a gendered division of labor with Englishness provided a further justification for the enslavement and subordination of Africans.)
J. How did political issues in Britain impact the way in which the colonies in North America developed? What role did ideas about gender play in the development of slavery in the British colonies? (Turmoil in Britain)
K. How were the colonies founded in this period similar to or different from the earlier English colonies of Jamestown and Massachusetts Bay? (New Colonies)
L. Why was Maryland founded? What type of colony did its founders intend to create? (Maryland)
M. What type of communities were the founders of the colonies that became Connecticut hoping to build?