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These activities are mostly internet based. Depending upon the situation, they can be done in groups with the use computers
on a rotational basis in conjunction with other activities suggested, or the user can access the sites, and in some cases, print
the information and work on it at school or at home.
I. Introduction to Slavery
Please visit these websites. There will be a class discussion on the topic. Class discussion will be based on the questions
below. After taking some time to examine the information on these sites, complete the activities below.
Black Cultural Centre For Nova Scotia web site
Pathways to Freedom Website
National Park Service: Learn About Slavery
Discovery School site
African Canadian History in Atlantic Canada
The Learners Portal site, the article entitled, “Kenneth Donovan “Slaves and Their Owners in Ile Royale, 1713-1760”
1. After researching information on these sites, present in written form, what is meant by slavery. Include the following topics:
- Numbers of slaves sent across the Atlantic, to North America, and New France
- What it meant to be a slave
- Why there was a demand for slaves in North America
- A discussion of slaves being treated as property
- Treatment of slaves during their trip to North America, at the slave auction, and after they have been purchased
- The role of racism (skin colour) and economics (cost of labour) in the slave trade
- Why slaves were forbidden to have an education
- Why slavery lasted as long as it did
Signs in Stitches and Song
2. The following link, found on the Learners Portal website, offers an excellent opportunity to experience the concept of slavery by use of images.
The Atlantic Slave Trade and
Slave Life in the Americas:
A Visual Record
3. Please visit the discovery school site.
Discovery School.com
Divide into groups and write an account of the slave trade from the varied perspectives of those involved. Each member of the class should write his/her own account as if he/she was one of the participants in the auction. Write it in the form of a
personal journal. Report back in groups.
- The slave family – the father/mother and the children
- The rich men who bought the slaves
- The clergy from the local church
- The Justice
- The auctioneer
Read the account of Olaudah Equiano at the Discovery School site
Discovery School.com
In groups, research each section under the section “A Slave in Three Continents”.
Class presentation could take any of a number of forms – a written report presented to the class on each of the sections,
the use of presentation software (PowerPoint, Hyperstudio, or other similar programs), or a dramatic presentation.
A tableau or storyboard is also suggested.
5. On the Learner’s Portal Site, follow the links to Atlantic Canada – Voices of Experts – Slavery.
Go to the audio segments of Ken Donovan
Voices of the Experts
- Research, in groups, the experience of slavery in Louisbourg. Each group will report on one segment. Compare Louisbourg slaves with the American slaves under these headings: daily life and duties of a slave, some reasons why people owned slaves, a slave’s experience (life of Marie Margaret Rose vs. life of Olaudah Equiano)
- Discuss how climate and the economy may have had an influence on the life of a slave in Louisbourg vs. a slave in the southern United States.
Imagine that you are one of a group of slaves who live in 18th Century Louisbourg. Contrast how you would be treated
by each of the following persons/groups. Explain why the treatment would be as you described.
- The governor
- The Roman Catholic clergy
- The Mi’kmaq
- Military leader
- A fellow slave or former slave
- A merchant
II. The Quest For Freedom
1. Visit the following website
Underground Railroad
Scroll down and read the section on the Underground Railroad. This will give some background information.
When you have finished reading this, go to the following website.
Underground Railroad Exhibit: Teacher Resources
Take the journey on the Underground Railroad as requested.
Imagine that you are working as a reporter for a major
news agency in the 21st century, and have traveled back in time. You have been given the assignment of following
Harriet Tubman and a number of slaves who have left their masters and are seeking freedom in Canada.
You will compile a report to be used on a weekly news magazine show, or you will keep a running journal that you will
publish in a major news publication. This would be made public after the slaves had successfully reached Canada.
Include the following in your report:
- A description of who traveled with you (without pictures or names, or changed names). This would include ages, what they did as a slave, family members, and any other pertinent information
- How you and the others felt as you approached each obstacle along the journey
- Personalities you met along the way
- Description of the feelings of the slaves as they crossed the border, and their aspirations as they reached Canada
Underground Railroad Exhibit website. A suitable blank map may be found at the national atlas website:
Underground Railroad Exhibit: Teacher Resources
The National Geographic website is located here:
National Geographic
Use the blank map at the Parks Canada website, mark some of the places where the escaped slaves settled when they
arrived in Canada. The Parks Canada website is located here:
Parks Canada
Use the maps on this site to assist in marking the settlements of those who escaped along the Underground Railroad:
Ontario's Underground Railroad
Posters calling for the apprehension of runaway slaves can be found at:
The Fugitive Slave Bill of 1850
Students can be directed to create their own poster based on the information found here.
3. Using Presentation software, create a production entitled “The Anti Slavery Movement in Canada”.
Information on individuals or artifacts can be researched relating to the topic at the Library and Archives site of the
Government of Canada. Alternatively, where computer technology is limited, you can create drawings with explanations
on each person or artifact. In lower grades, a suggestion of a class quilt could be considered.
Collections Canada
4. Many blacks seeking freedom sought comfort in music. Some of the songs had hidden messages.
One of the popular songs of the Underground Railroad was “Follow the Drinking Gourd”.
Go to this site:
Music and Lyrics
Read the poem or song and try to identify what hidden meanings the lyrics may contain.
The lyrics and music can be found here:
Follow the Drinking Gourd
This site Parks Canada is also helpful.
5. Imagine that you are a person who has a home along the Underground Railroad. You secretly offer shelter to those
seeking freedom. Write an historical fiction of your experiences. Include the people you have helped, why you help,
and any confrontations you may have with authorities.
The story of many of the “conductors” along the Underground Railroad is found here:
Ontario's Underground Railroad
6. You could do a poster on slavery combining many of these activities. The poster could include maps of the
Underground Railroad, information on conductors, a wanted poster seeking runaway slaves, a poem,
or pictures of artifacts of the anti-slavery movement, just to suggest a few.
III. The Maritime Experience
1. Go to the Learners Portal website
Read the information on the Black Loyalists. Discuss what is meant by terms such as Loyalists, refugee, proclamation,
Negro, and indentured servitude. You can participate in a Mock Trial. Imagine that one of the Black Loyalists is taking
the British government to court over treatment he and his family received at the hands of the British government after the
Revolutionary War.
Information for the trial can be found at:
Blackloyalist.com
Information for the Black Loyalist side is under the sections entitled “Arrival” and “Prejudice”, also the proclamations of
Lord Dunmore’s and Sir Henry Clinton. Some of the British government’s arguments would include that land and supplies
were provided, but many Blacks deserted their land, etc. Class members could participate as judge, plaintiff(s), defendant,
bailiff, clerk, and jury members. Witnesses could be drawn from the class, also. Other classes could be invited to be
the audience.
Period costume would be very helpful.
2. Have a debate or re-enact a meeting among Black Loyalist leaders, as to whether they should stay on the land that they
were given, or move to Africa. Consider the treatment they received. Their plight is described in the Learners Portal website,
by clicking on the Sierra Leone link. Include the perspective of the Maroons, information found by clicking on the
Sierra Leone link.
3. Write a letter of complaint. Imagine that you have arrived in Nova Scotia as member of a group of Refugees of the
War of 1812. You have been given land on which to settle, and after a few years, realize that many white settlers from other
parts of the world are getting better land and provisions from the government. One of your group, probably a clergyman who
is literate, has volunteered to write to the governor of the colony of Nova Scotia outlining your concerns. Write a response from
the governor, stating his position on these matters. Helpful information can be found at the Learners Portal website by
clicking on the War of 1812 link.
4. Visit the Digital Collections website and write a comparison of the experience of Black Refugees of the War of 1812 in the
Maritimes and in Ontario. Speculate as to why the treatment was different in these places.
Collections Canada
5. Read the following song lyrics written below. Write a response to it.
Another more lengthy song is found at:
Musicanet.org or this location
Does everything mentioned in the song become true? If so, what? Write your own song or poem on slavery in the form of
Haiku, Free Verse, or Cinquain.
That cold and distant land
The dire effects of slavery
I can no longer stand -
Farewell old master,
Don't come after me.
I'm on my way to Canada
Where coloured men are free.
(A version of the song "The Free Slave," by the American abolitionist George W. Clark)
IV. The 20th Century - Slavery, Discrimination, and Success
1. Read the following letter, written during World War 1. This letter is a part of similar letters found at this website:
The Black military Heritage in Canada
Send a letter of response from the viewpoint of:
- A person of African descent interested in fighting for his country
- A member of the Canadian Armed Forces fighting in the trenches of Europe at the time
- A Canadian politician who represents Blacks in his constituency
- You as a student and Canadian citizen today
Chief of the General Staff
13 April 1916
Memorandum on the
enlistment of Negroes in
Canadian Expeditionary Force
1. Nothing is to be gained by blinking facts. The civilized negro is vain and imitative;
in Canada he is not being impelled to enlist by a high sense of duty; in the trenches
he is not likely to make a good fighter; and the average white man will not associate with
him on terms of equality. Not a single commanding officer in Military District No. 2
is willing to accept a coloured platoon as part of his battalion (H.Q. 297-1-29);
and it would be humiliating to the coloured men themselves to serve in a battalion
where they were not wanted.
2. In France, in the firing line, there is no place for a black battalion, C.E.F.
It would be eyed askance; it would crowd out a white battalion; and it would be
difficult to reinforce.
3. Nor could it be left in England and used as a draft-giving depot; for there would be
trouble if negroes were sent to the front for the purpose of reinforcing white battalions;
and, if they are any good at all, they would resent being kept in Canada for the
purpose of finding guards, etc.
4. It seems, therefore, that three courses are practicable:
- (a) As at present, to allow Negroes to enlist, individually, into white battalions at the discretion of commanding officers.
- (b) To allow them to form one or more labour battalions. Negroes from Nova Scotia, for example, would not be unsuitable for the purpose.
- (c) To ask the British Government if it can make use of a black battalion, C.E.F., on special duty overseas (e.g. in Egypt): but the battalion will not be ready before the fall, and, if only on account of its relatively extravagant rates of pay, it will not mix well with other troops.
W. Gwatkin
Major-General
Chief of the General Staff
Free the Slaves
Write a response to what you have read. Include how you feel for the person who was abducted. Also include how you
would feel if they were a person in this situation. Offer suggestions as to how you can help people in this situation,
as an individual, or as a group.
3. In the 1960’s a community named Africville was located on the shores of Bedford Basin.
People who lived there were relocated to other parts of Halifax.
Go to the following site and view suggested learning activities.
CBC Archives
contributions to Canada, both past and present.
Go to the following website:
Collections Canada
Prepare a biographical report based on one of the successful African Canadians depicted. Some may require further
research, particularly some that are more contemporary. A presentation to the class could be suggested.
The report can follow the following suggested outline:
- a picture or drawing of the person
- where the person was born
- the person’s family
- category of success (business, arts, etc.)
- accomplishments
- qualities which you admire, or qualities which may have contribute to the subjects success
- your opinion of the person
These reports could be done with presentation software, such as Powerpoint, Hyperstudio, or done in the form of a
newsletter or brochure, using Publisher. This activity could also be used to highlight the lives of any
Canadians of notable accomplishment.
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