Money and Morals in the Triangular Trade In anticipation of reading Jamaica Kincaid’s A Small Place, SWBAT participate in a simulated slave economy by assuming roles and engaging in collaborative choice for the greatest monetary gain at the least cost of moral implication; SWBAT reflect how people in a variety of occupations in New England and the British West Indies are implicated in the slave trade by writing reflectively about the role play. Preview: Think about a time when you made a choice because you profited financially, intellectually, ethically, even though you knew it was morally “wrong.” Why did you make that choice, even if it made you feel guilty? CCCS/NJ: 3.1 Reading G, H: • •

Making conscious inferences about important information presented Drawing from prior knowledge to make meaning from print

3.3 Speaking A, B: • •

Activities encouraging problem-solving and inquiry skills as critical attributes to learning "Active learning" in which students are engaged in active questioning, active listening, authentic activities, and the learning process

3.2 Writing: • •

Synthesizing new information with existing understanding about a topic Evaluating and forming opinions about ideas presented.

Materials: Questions generated by teacher Map on Triangular Trade Map of African Diaspora Information Sheet on Triangular Trade Process: 1. Review map of Triangular Trade with students: Have students identify New England, West Africa, and the West Indies (specifically Antigua, which serves as the setting for A Small Place). Review map of African Diaspora. Remind students that slavery was the basis for the Triangular Trade and industry in the American colonies and West Indies. 2. Students read and annotate Information Sheet on Triangular Trade. © 2008 Harriet Beecher Stowe Center, 77 Forest Street, Hartford, CT 06105 HarrietBeecherStowe.org

3. As a whole group, students note important facts they read from Information Sheet on the Triangular Trade. 4. Students separate into 4 teams, each with 5 participants. 2 groups are labeled New England Settlers and 2 are labeled British West Indies Settlers. 5. Explain to students that they will be competing for Money and Humanity Points as a team (Points to be marked on T-Grid on the board). The goal of the game is to get as many possible points in each category. 6. Students select one of the posted occupations (i.e. doctor), thinking about their own personal values concerning money and morals. 7. Distribute the first round of questions to each student based on occupation. (i.e. all farmers receive question 1 for Farmers) 8. In groups, students discuss the possible scenarios and choices. Group members can offer suggestions— based on prior knowledge, personal priorities, and the Triangular Trade Information Sheet— but the individual student must make the final selection. 9. Each “profession” reports final choices. Teacher explains consequences of the choice and notes points added or detracted onto the T-Chart for Money and Humanity Points. 10. Have students engage in process twice more. Calculate points. Assessment 1. Ask students, in anticipation of a discussion about the role-play, to complete 4 Reflection Questions. 2. In a whole-class discussion, allow students to provide feedback and observations about the role-play. 3. Ask volunteer students to share responses to Reflection Question #3.

1. 2. 2. 3.

Reflection Questions As the role-play progressed, how did your choices and your teammates choices evolve? Which category “Money” or “Humanity” is worth more? Why? What surprised you about the scenarios, your choices, or the consequences? In what ways did America and the colonies support the African slave trade?

Curriculum created by Annie Liontas Newark, NJ

© 2008 Harriet Beecher Stowe Center, 77 Forest Street, Hartford, CT 06105 HarrietBeecherStowe.org

Money and Morals in the Triangular Trade Choose your identity Doctor Minister Distillery Owner Plantation Owner Background on the Triangular Trade: In the 18th century (1709-1807) New England merchants engaged in trading commodities for slaves and products manufactured by slaves. Rhode Island, for example, controlled 60-90% of the American trade in African slaves (Coughtry 25). In the early 1700s—and through the 1730’s—elite and wealthy merchants conducted most of the trade. After the Revolutionary War, however, investors and traders saw unparallel gains: in 1795, 32 voyages sponsored by traders in RI imported 3, 744 African slaves. Abolition of the slave trade loomed on the horizon in the early 1800s, and 1806 witnessed record investments and profit (RI completed 47 voyages for 6, 233 slaves). Many traders continued to operate, even after individual states outlawed the importation of slaves from foreign nations or other states. New England exported nonperishable foods and raw materials to the West Indies. Foods like red onions, salt fish, wheat/oats, and hard vegetables (cabbage/carrots) were consumed by slaves. Horses and timber were exported to assist in labor. Rum was exported to Africa, as were iron and guns (which enabled particular groups in Africa to enslave others by force and profit from the sale to slave traders) The West Indies profited primarily on sugar plantations, because sugar could not easily be grown and traded elsewhere. Sugar and molasses were exported to New England to be distilled into rum. Although fish and other foodstuffs could be obtained in West Indies, it was good business sense to focus on the production of sugar, since slave labor from Africa was cheap, and sugar and molasses were in demand in New England. West Africa exported salt and gold, but its greatest commodity was bodies for labor. 430,000 slaves were imported into the United States, while 9.2 million slaves were imported to the West Indies and Central/South America. Rum, distilled in New England, was traded for slaves.

© 2008 Harriet Beecher Stowe Center, 77 Forest Street, Hartford, CT 06105 HarrietBeecherStowe.org

Teacher Answer Sheet Doctors: 1. You are offered stock and an $8,000 raise to join Captain Parry’s slave ship as the primary doctor on a journey to Cape Coast in West Africa, which is expected to pick up 609 slaves. Do you accept or reject the offer? Yes No +6 Money -8 Humanity +0 Money +8 Humanity Yes: The money you gain from this position enables you to purchase additional slaves to work on your new land. You watch almost 50% of the 609 slaves die from infection. No: You break even at the end of the financial year. Although other doctors travel with Captain Parry throughout his career, you never join him. 2. A captain in Rhode Island needs investors to fund his ship to export rum to West Africa. You know that your brother (who is also a doctor) has invested in the captain’s journeys in the past, and he profited enough to buy additional land for his two sons. The captain promises that the journey will be successful and that you will receive four times the amount you invest. Do you invest or pass? Yes No -5 Money -8 Humanity -5 Money -2 Humanity Yes: The rum is exchanged for slaves, who are shipped to the West Indies sugar plantations, but infection and disease kill almost 70% of the captives. No: You are unable to earn enough money to purchase medicines from abroad, which cannot be manufacture in the colonies. Many of your own patients suffer and die. 3. While traveling, you encounter a runaway slave who is terribly injured. Without your help, he will die. There are costly legal consequences if you assist him, however. Do you help him or not? Yes No -5 Money +10 Humanity +4 Money -10 Humanity Yes: The man, as a direct result of your help, is able to escape and find his family, but when townspeople hear about your decision to treat a runaway, they boycott your practice and you are temporarily placed in stocks. No: Because you do not treat the man, he is quickly caught and you receive the credit. Thereafter, the master frequently enlists your services to treat his other slaves.

© 2008 Harriet Beecher Stowe Center, 77 Forest Street, Hartford, CT 06105 HarrietBeecherStowe.org

Ministers: 1. Because you are such a successful preacher, you are invited to participate in a circuit, which would enable you to travel to other towns to preach the gospel. It will require you to be away from home for long periods of time, but on the road you are sure to save many souls. Do you take the gospel to the people? Yes No +7 Money -6 Humanity +2 Money +3 Humanity Yes: You receive fame and money for your dedication. Because you are unable to tend to your lands and family, however, you must purchase 3 additional slaves. No: You continue to preach from the pulpit at the town church and eke out a living, and you do not need to purchase additional slaves, as two slaves are already sufficient to take care of your land and house. 2. As a minister, you believe that you must collect as many souls for God as you possibly can. Because the master of the plantation is a God-fearing man, he supports you and has promised that any slave caught practicing any religion other than Christianity will be branded with a cross. You have caught a group of slaves praying to Allah. Do you turn the slaves in to be branded? Yes No +7 Money -6 Humanity +0 Money +4 Humanity Yes: The master admires your purist interpretations of the Bible and rewards you with an additional personal slave. No: You work harder to convert the heathens with little success. 3. You have been out of town for a month. Your wife reports that one of your slaves has been lazy and careless and has broken a priceless family heirloom. She expects you to whip the slave as punishment. Yes No +3 Money -7 Humanity -7 Money +8 Humanity Yes: Your wife is satisfied. Chloe, your slave, works harder for fear of punishment. She has heard you talk about selling her to your neighbor, and he is a cruel master who drinks and rapes female slaves. No: Because Chloe, your slave, is not punished, your wife is outraged. Another slave, Hercules, believes that you have become soft and finds the courage to escape.

© 2008 Harriet Beecher Stowe Center, 77 Forest Street, Hartford, CT 06105 HarrietBeecherStowe.org

Distillery Owner 1. You own and operate a distillery in Massachusetts. This season, demand for rum in England has dropped. William Channing, a law graduate from Princeton University and the Attorney General, suggests you trade with West Africa. Do you engage in trade? Yes +10 Money -13 Humanity

No -14 Money

+ 15 Humanity

Yes: You profit greatly by trading rum for slaves in West Africa, most of who are taken to the West Indies. No: Your competitor accepts William Channing’s proposition and your distillery is forced to close. 2. You have received a lot of cheap molasses from the West Indies to be distilled into rum, and this is making you very wealthy. You realize that if you purchase 4 additional slaves, you can build the barrels to ship rum to West Africa, and this will give you an additional 30% profit gain. Do you purchase the slaves? Yes No +12 Money -15 Humanity -8 Money + 5 Humanity Yes: The profits from the distillery allow you to campaign for Congress, and you are elected. Because of the purchase of 4 additional slaves, two families are broken. No: Your distillery actually produces more rum than barrels, and profits are weakened because you are temporarily unable to ship the rum. 3. A slave man, who you find to be industrious and hardworking, asks to buy his freedom. Yes No +7 Money +3 Humanity +5 Money -10 Humanity Yes: You allow the slave to work during the off-season as long as he gives you 15% of his earnings, and you force him to pay three times the amount that you paid for him. No: Good slaves are hard to find, and if you set this man free, the town will hold you financially responsible if he becomes sick or poor. The slave, after your death, is willed to your son.

© 2008 Harriet Beecher Stowe Center, 77 Forest Street, Hartford, CT 06105 HarrietBeecherStowe.org

Plantation Owner 1. Abolitionists and ministers visit you and ask you to repent and free your slaves. All of your labor is slave labor, with the exception of one indentured Indian servant. Do you repent and release your slaves? Yes No -30 Money +12 Humanity +4 Money -12 Humanity Yes: It is harvest season and because you are unable to hire laborers, and can no longer afford them, your crops are ruined. You suspect this is God’s vengeance. You lose your property but take your place as an abolitionist who begs God’s forgiveness for a cruel and sinful past as a slave master. No: Like most plantation owners, you reject the ideas of abolitionists. You argue that slavery is upheld by Christianity, Enlightenment, and Science, and everyone knows that blacks are inferior. 2. You have threatened that any slaves attempting to escape from your plantation will result in immediate death. The overseer caught a man and a woman who tried to run, and the man confessed that slaves have been talking about revolting. Do you kill the runaway slaves? Yes No -8 Money -Humanity +14 Money -5 Humanity Yes: The woman is pregnant, and in killing her and her brother you send a clear message to your slaves. The revolt, if it was ever a real threat, never materializes. No: Both slaves are whipped to serve as an example. The woman, who was pregnant, delivers a little boy who grows up to work on your sugar plantation. 3. It is said that your town of Wethersfield, CT produces so many red onions that you can smell them as you walk down the street. You know that there is great demand for red onions in the West Indies. Do you sell to that market? Yes No +14 Money -14 Humanity -14 Money +3 Humanity Yes: Your town prospers, because red onions are added to flavor the bland stew that is served to slaves who are working on West Indian sugar plantations. No: No one on earth wants this many red onions. You are unable to sell them to England or any other colonies, and you lose your house. The rest of Wethersfield’s farmers prosper, because they chose to sell red onions to the West Indies.

© 2008 Harriet Beecher Stowe Center, 77 Forest Street, Hartford, CT 06105 HarrietBeecherStowe.org

Student Questions Doctors: 1. You are offered stock and an $8,000 raise to join Captain Parry’s slave ship as the primary doctor on a journey to Cape Coast in West Africa, which is expected to pick up 609 slaves. Do you accept or reject the offer?

2. A captain in Rhode Island needs investors to fund his ship to export rum to West Africa. You know that your brother (who is also a doctor) has invested in the captain’s journeys in the past, and he profited enough to buy additional land for his two sons. The captain promises that the journey will be successful and that you will receive four times the amount you invest. Do you invest or pass?

3. While traveling, you encounter a runaway slave who is terribly injured. Without your help, he will die. There are costly legal consequences if you assist him, however. Do you help him or not?

Ministers: 1. Because you are such a successful preacher, you are invited to participate in a circuit, which would enable you to travel to other towns to preach the gospel. It will require you to be away from home for long periods of time, but on the road you are sure to save many souls. Do you take the gospel to the people?

2. As a minister, you believe that you must collect as many souls for God as you possibly can. Because the master of the plantation is a God-fearing man, he supports you and has promised that any slave caught practicing any religion other than Christianity will be branded with a cross. You have caught a group of slaves praying to Allah. Do you turn the slaves in to be branded?

3. You have been out of town for a month. Your wife reports that one of your slaves has been lazy and careless and has broken a priceless family heirloom. She expects you to whip the slave as punishment.

Distillery Owner 1. You own and operate a distillery in Massachusetts. This season, demand for rum in England has dropped. William Channing, a law graduate from Princeton University and the Attorney General, suggests you trade with West Africa. Do you engage in trade?

© 2008 Harriet Beecher Stowe Center, 77 Forest Street, Hartford, CT 06105 HarrietBeecherStowe.org

2. You have received a lot of cheap molasses from the West Indies to be distilled into rum, and this is making you very wealthy. You realize that if you purchase 4 additional slaves, you can build the barrels to ship rum to West Africa, and this will give you an additional 30% profit gain. Do you purchase the slaves? 3. A slave man, who you find to be industrious and hardworking, asks to buy his freedom.

Plantation Owner 1. Abolitionists and ministers visit you and ask you to repent and free your slaves. All of your labor is slave labor, with the exception of one indentured Indian servant. Do you repent and release your slaves? 2. You have threatened that any slaves attempting to escape from your plantation will result in immediate death. The overseer caught a man and a woman who tried to run, and the man confessed that slaves have been talking about revolting. Do you kill the runaway slaves? 3. It is said that your town of Wethersfield, CT produces so many red onions that you can smell them as you walk down the street. You know that there is great demand for red onions in the West Indies. Do you sell to that market?

© 2008 Harriet Beecher Stowe Center, 77 Forest Street, Hartford, CT 06105 HarrietBeecherStowe.org

© 2008 Harriet Beecher Stowe Center, 77 Forest Street, Hartford, CT 06105 HarrietBeecherStowe.org

Curriculum created by Annie Liontas Newark, NJ

© 2008 Harriet Beecher Stowe Center, 77 Forest Street, Hartford, CT 06105 HarrietBeecherStowe.org