Lesson video
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Hello, everyone.
How are you today?
I hope you're doing well.
My name is Ms. Afzal, and I'll be your teacher for this lesson.
I think it's going to be an interesting lesson, but also one with some quite tough material in it.
So really encouraging you to take good care of yourselves as you approach this lesson.
Our lesson is called The Arrival of European Traders in West Africa.
And it comes from unit of work Transatlantic Slavery: How were West African Societies Impacted?
So if you're ready to get into this lesson, if you have some care, some sensitivity, focus, and energy, we'll begin our lesson now.
The outcome for today's lesson is I can explain the impact of the Europeans arriving in West Africa on West African kingdoms.
I hope that sounds of interest to you.
And just a reminder that today's lesson will require focus as usual, but also some sensitivity as some aspects of our lesson may feel tough in parts.
So let's go gently.
We have some keywords in our lesson.
Let's go through them one at a time, saying them out loud.
My turn, your turn.
Enslaved people.
Indentured labor.
Chattel slavery.
Slaveholder.
Let's find out what these keywords mean.
Enslaved people are people who've been forced to work, lose their freedom, and become the property of another person, working for no pay.
Indentured labor is a system where someone is made to work without pay for a set period of time, either as punishment or voluntarily for later repayment.
Chattel slavery is when people became legal property and cannot be freed without the permission of their slaveholder.
The slaveholder is someone who owned enslaved people.
So these are our keywords.
We'll be on the lookout for them, and we'll be thinking carefully about these keywords, and considering their impact as well as we go through our lesson today.
Our lesson is called the Arrival of European Traders in West Africa, and it has three learning cycles, the arrival of the Portuguese, declining power in the Sahel, and new trades, new power.
Let's begin by exploring the arrival of the Portuguese.
The Portuguese began to arrive in West Africa from the 1440s.
More people moved to the coast to trade with Portuguese merchants in the 1500s.
Portuguese traders exchanged goods such as horses and guns for gold.
As we can see in these visuals, horses and guns being traded for gold.
Let's have a check for understanding.
When the Portuguese arrived in the 1440s, they brought horses and other goods to trade for.
.
.
Complete the sentence by choosing from this selection of words.
A, enslaved people, b, gold, c, textiles.
Pause here while you decide which of these words will complete the sentence.
Well done if you chose the word gold.
Let's read through the sentence in full.
When the Portuguese arrived in the 1440s, they brought horses and other goods to trade for gold.
Let's have another check for understanding.
True or false?
In the 16th century, more and more West African people move towards the coast.
Pause here while you decide.
Is this statement true or false?
Well done if you selected true.
And now I'd like you to justify your answer by choosing from one of these two options.
A, people moved to the coast to trade with other West African kingdoms, or b, people moved to the coast to trade with Europeans.
Pause here while you decide which of these statements justifies your earlier answer.
Well done if you selected statement b.
Indeed, people moved to the coast to trade with Europeans.
This statement justifies your earlier answer.
And now it's time for your first task.
I'd like you to write one paragraph to describe the arrival of the Portuguese on the West African coast.
Make sure to use the following in your response.
1440s, horses, gold.
So pause here while you have a go at this task of writing one paragraph to describe the arrival of the Portuguese on the West African coast.
I'll see you when you finish your task.
It's good to be back with you.
So how did you get on with that task of writing one paragraph to describe the arrival of the Portuguese on the West African coast?
Your answer may include the following.
Portuguese merchants began to arrive in West Africa in the 1440s.
When they arrived, they brought horses, guns, gunpowder, and other goods with the hope of trading them for gold.
By the 1500s, many local people had moved to the coast to begin to trade with these Portuguese merchants, increasing their power along the coast.
Well done if you wrote something like this.
Well done for having a go at this task.
And now we're onto our next learning cycle, declining power in the Sahel.
Here we can see a map of West African kingdoms, 1200 to 1700.
As their power declined, some West African kingdoms along the coast began to shrink, like Wolof and Kaabu.
Pause here and share with someone, have you heard of the names of any of these other West African kingdoms?
Thanks for sharing.
Let's have a check for understanding.
Which one of the following is not a reason rulers of the Sahel were losing power?
Choose from this selection.
A, Portuguese traders starting wars against them, b, Portuguese traders changing trade in the region, c, civil wars within kingdoms as power relations changed.
Pause here while you decide which one of the following is not a reason rulers of the Sahel were losing power.
Well done if you selected statement a.
Indeed, Portuguese traders started wars against them.
This is not a reason rulers of the Sahel were losing power.
However, kingdoms like Benin continued to thrive in the 1600s.
Here we can see a 16th century plaque from Benin with two Portuguese merchants.
Pause here and share with someone any details you notice on this plaque.
Thanks for sharing what you noticed.
Let's have a check for understanding.
Which one of the following statements is true?
Choose from this selection.
A, West African kingdoms were unaffected by the arrival of the Portuguese, b, some kingdoms like Benin continued to thrive in the 1600s, c, all West African kingdoms collapsed once the Portuguese arrived.
Pause here while you decide which one of these statements is true.
Well done if you selected statement b.
Indeed, some kingdoms like Benin continued to thrive in the 1600s.
This statement is true.
And now it's time for your next task.
I would like you to complete the table to show whether each of the following statements is true or false.
The first one has been done for you.
The Songhay empire collapsed into civil war in 1591.
This statement is true.
Let's read through the next statements.
Rulers of the Sahel did not lose power to newly arrived Portuguese traders.
As their power declined, some kingdoms became larger.
Wolof and Kaabu were smaller coastal kingdoms.
The kingdom of Benin collapsed in the 1600s.
So pause here while you complete this table to show whether each of these statements is true or false.
I'll see you when you're finished.
It's good to be back with you.
How did you get on with that task, completing the table to show whether each of these statements is true or false?
A reminder of the first statement.
The Songhay empire collapsed into civil war in 1591.
This statement is true.
Rulers of the Sahel did not lose power to newly arrived Portuguese traders.
This statement is false.
As their power declined, some kingdoms became larger.
This statement is false.
Wolof and Kaabu were smaller coastal kingdoms.
This statement is true.
The kingdom of Benin collapsed in the 1600s.
This statement is false.
And now onto the next part of your task.
I would like you to rewrite the false sentences as correct statements.
So here are the false sentences.
Rulers of the Sahel did not lose power to newly arrived Portuguese traders.
As their power declined, some kingdoms became larger.
And the kingdom of Benin collapsed in the 1600s.
So pause here while you rewrite these false sentences as correct statements.
I'll see you when you're finished.
It's good to be back with you.
How did you get on with rewriting the false statements as correct statements?
Perhaps you rewrote the first false statement in this way.
Rulers of the Sahel lost a lot of their power to newly arrived Portuguese traders.
This is now true.
Next one.
As their power declined, some kingdoms became smaller.
This is now true.
And finally, the kingdom of Benin continued to thrive in the 1600s.
This statement is now true.
Well done for correcting these statements.
Well done for having a go at this task.
And now we're onto our final learning cycle, new trades, new power.
And again, a reminder that this section could feel a little tough.
Some of the images and what we're learning about may feel quite sensitive.
Portuguese traders soon began trading enslaved people.
These people had been enslaved as punishment or prisoners of war.
They were enslaved in a system similar to indentured labor.
And here we can see an illustration of prisoners of war.
Let's have a check for understanding.
Which of these statements is the best definition of indentured labor?
Choose from this selection.
A, a system where someone is made to work with little pay for an undefined period of time, b, a system where someone is made to work without pay for a set period of time, c, a system where someone is made the property of someone else.
Pause here while you decide which of these statements is the best definition of indentured labor.
Well done if you chose option b.
A system where someone is made to work without pay for a set period of time is the best definition of indentured labor.
However, Europeans sold these enslaved people into chattel slavery in the Americas.
They would only be free again if their slaveholder chose to free them.
And we can see an illustration of a sale of enslaved people in the Americas.
Let's have a check for understanding.
In the early 1500s, European merchants began to sell enslaved people into chattel slavery in.
.
.
Complete the sentence by choosing from one of these options.
A, England, b, West Africa, c, the Americas.
Pause here while you decide how to complete this sentence.
Well done if you selected option c, the Americas.
Let's read through the sentence.
In the early 1500s, European merchants began to sell enslaved people into chattel slavery in the Americas.
Let's have another check for understanding.
True or false?
Indentured labor and chattel slavery are different.
Pause here while you decide.
Is this statement true or false?
Well done if you selected true.
And now I'd like you to justify your answer by choosing from one of these two statements.
A, indentured laborers work for a fixed time with no pay, then are free.
Chattel slavery only ends when a slaveholder grants freedom.
B, the children of those sold into chattel slavery were also enslaved, however indentured labor ended if a child was born.
Pause here while you decide which of these statements justifies your earlier answer.
Well done if you selected statement a.
Indeed, indentured laborers worked for a fixed time with no pay, then are free.
Chattel slavery only ends when a slaveholder grants freedom.
This statement justifies your earlier answer.
And now it's time for your next task.
Alex is making a statement here, but there are three main errors in his statement.
Let's read through what Alex has to say.
"European traders arrived on the West African coast in the 1440s.
Immediately, West African kingdoms began to collapse.
At first, Portuguese traders came to trade their horses and guns for enslaved people.
Then these traders took enslaved people and sold them into chattel slavery, which was the same type of slavery that had existed across Africa.
" So pause here while you identify the three main errors in Alex's statement.
Well done if you identified these three errors.
Immediately, West African kingdoms began to collapse, that the Portuguese traders traded their horses and guns for enslaved people, and that chattel slavery was the same type of slavery that had existed across Africa.
These are the three main errors in Alex's statement.
And now for the next part of your task, I would like you to rewrite Alex's statement, correcting all three errors.
Pause here while you have a go at this part of your task.
Well done for having a go at this next part of your task, of rewriting Alex's statement, correcting all three errors.
Your answer should include changes like these ones.
European traders arrived on the West African coast in the 1440s.
After a while, some West African kingdoms began to collapse.
However, some continued to thrive, like Benin.
At first, Portuguese traders came to trade their horses and guns for gold.
Then these traders took enslaved people and sold them into chattel slavery, which was different from the system of slavery that had existed across Africa, which was more like indentured labor.
Well done if you corrected Alex's errors in this way.
Well done for having a go at this task.
In our lesson, The Arrival of European Traders in West Africa, we've covered the following.
Portuguese merchants arrived in the 1440s with the intention of trading their goods for gold.
Over time, power in West Africa became concentrated in smaller kingdoms.
In the 1500s and 1600s, some kingdoms like Benin became more powerful and built peaceful trading relationship with European traders.
However, other kingdoms collapsed.
From the 1500s, European traders began to sell enslaved people into chattel slavery in the Americas.
Well done, everyone, for joining in with this lesson, finding out what happened as the European traders arrived in West Africa.
There are some really devastating things that happened at this time in history.
It's important to acknowledge what took place.
I hope you can take good care of yourself if you felt impacted by any of what was shared in this lesson.
I look forward to seeing you at another lesson soon.
Bye for now.
