1. Study the following passage. Then write it down from memory SOLD! The sale of the slaves is arguably the most disgraceful thing that happened to them. Their capture was kidnap, and bad enough, but selling them deprived them permanently of their freedom, and is arguably the greater crime against humanity. STARTER

2. THE AUCTION AND SALE OF SLAVES Source A Source B Source C

3. Slave Auction Watch the short video clip Watch the short video clip Note down 5 steps involved in preparing slaves for auction Why was it in the interests of the slave traders to make slaves look healthy? Read the sources on pages 30-31 Which sources support the statement you wrote down from memory TASK 1

4. How were slaves prepared for auction? Washed with water Rubbed with oil Gunpowder, hot tar or rust rubbed into wounds Teeth inspected Brutal remedies, e.g. for diarrhoea Given laudanum to pacify wild ones and brandy to liven up lifeless slaves Two methods of sale – auction & scramble What does this source tell us about the attitude to slaves?

5. What can we learn from watching Roots about slave auctions? Watch the next scene of Roots as the slave auction is held. Make notes on how Kunta Kinte is prepared for and sold at auction Watch the next scene of Roots as the slave auction is held. Make notes on how Kunta Kinte is prepared for and sold at auction Why does Haley make it so amusing? Why does Haley make it so amusing? After watching the clip write how similar or different this source is to Sources A and B After watching the clip write how similar or different this source is to Sources A and B TASK 2

6. Slave Auctions: Solomon Northup 12 Years a Slave is a memoir written in 1853 by Solomon Northup, a New York State-born free negro who was kidnapped in Washington DC in 1841 and and sold into slavery. He worked on plantations in the state of Louisiana for twelve years before his release. Read Source B which is his account of a slave auction TASK 2

7. Slave Auction “The men were arranged on one side of the room, the women at the other. We were paraded and made to dance. Bob, a coloured boy, who played the violin, would make us hold up our heads, walk briskly back and forth, while customers would feel our hands and arms and bodies, turn us about, ask us what we could do, make us open our mouths, and show our teeth, precisely as a jockey examines a horse which he is about to barter. Scars upon a slave’s back were considered evidence of rebellious spirit, and hurt his sale.” Solomon Northup described his experience of being sold to a man in Louisiana, Twelve Years a Slave 1853 How similar/different to the slave auction shown in Roots and Source A? (click here for text)click here for text Source B

8. As I look up at him… What is your emotional response to this image? When you have had a moment to think about it, you will be shown a poem about a scene like this

9. What I think of you by Daniel Aloysius Francis As he looks down at me, and I look up at him And I see his white skin, No differences between me an him, so he speaks a foreign tongue, we are all unique but all built the same way. THUD! I hit the ground: the pain is so loud … As he looks up at me, and I look down at him I look in his eyes and around the face, so I whip his black skin back until he’s unconscious. Knowing the work I’m doing is righteous. Delivering the children of God away from sin and savagery … How is the poet using irony to excuse the whipping of black slaves, when the slaves forgive their white brothers?

10. Now write your own creative response to today’s lesson A poem…….. Spend some time thinking Then write down some phrases Ask for help if you need it but have a go. Plenary: Volunteers to read poems