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Year 9

Abolitionist movements in Britain

I can explain British campaigns for abolition of slavery and the Haitian Revolution's role in strengthening these movements.

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Year 9

Abolitionist movements in Britain

I can explain British campaigns for abolition of slavery and the Haitian Revolution's role in strengthening these movements.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. In 1772 it was established that slavery went against English law and many people felt uneasy about Britain's role in it.
  2. People in Britain began to criticise the conditions on slave ships across the 'Middle Passage' to the Americas.
  3. The case of the Zong Massacre created public outrage in Britain at the conditions in which enslaved people were living.
  4. Groups and individuals such as Olaudah Equiano and William Wilberforce worked for abolition in Britain and its colonies.
  5. The Haitian Revolution created fear amongst British plantation owners about similar uprisings across the Caribbean.

Keywords

  • Habeas corpus - English law declaring detention or imprisonment as illegal if you have not committed a crime

  • Massacre - when many people are killed purposely in a violent manner

  • Abolition - the outlawing of enslavement by a particular country

  • Intolerable - being unable to bear an experience any longer

Common misconception

Abolition of slavery in Britain and its colonies was a response to a single event.

Abolition of slavery in Britain and its colonies was a response to a number of events and an ever-growing public demand for change.

It is important to note that, after abolition, British slave-owners were compensated for the 'loss' of the enslaved people that were formerly their property.
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Teacher tip

Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of discriminatory behaviour
  • Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering

Supervision

Adult supervision required

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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Starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Complete the following sentence: Saint-Domingue had been France's most prosperous colony in the during the 18th century.
Correct Answer: Caribbean, caribbean
Q2.
In what year did Haiti declare its independence?
Correct Answer: 1804
Q3.
After Toussaint L'Ouverture was captured and transported back to France where he faced imprisonment and death, who took over the resistance in Saint-Domingue against France?
Charles Leclerc
Correct answer: Jean-Jacques Dessalines
Napoleon Bonaparte
General Maitland
Q4.
What did Toussaint L’Ouverture do when he learned of Napoleon’s plan to reinstate slavery in 1802?
He declared a new slavery law for Saint-Domingue.
He became an enemy of Napoleon and declared independence for Haiti.
Correct answer: He declared a new constitution for Saint-Domingue and prepared for independence.
He asked Britain for military assistance.
Q5.
Put the below events in chronological order, starting with the earliest:
1 - Napoleon seized power in France in 1799.
2 - Napoleon reinstated slavery across the French Empire.
3 - French troops, under command of Charles Leclerc, were sent to Saint-Domingue.
4 - Leclerc won some initial victories and captured part of the colony.
5 - L'Ouverture was betrayed, captured, and imprisoned in Fort de Joux in France.
Q6.
What nationality were the portion of Leclerc's troops who switched sides to fight for the rebels against France?
British
German
Correct answer: Polish
French
Spanish

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
What term refers to being unable to bear an experience any longer?
Correct Answer: intolerable, Intolerable
Q2.
What was the proof for the British public that life for enslaved people was horrific?
Correct answer: revolts spreading around European colonies in the Caribbean
the direct experiences that members of the British public had of enslavement
Correct answer: the Zong massacre
slave-owners' testimony
Correct answer: Olaudah Equiano's autobiography
Q3.
Match the key figures of abolition to the correct description.
Correct Answer:William Wilberforce,British Member of Parliament and abolitionist

British Member of Parliament and abolitionist

Correct Answer:Toussaint L’Ouverture,leader of the Haitian Revolution

leader of the Haitian Revolution

Correct Answer:Olaudah Equiano,formerly enslaved man who published his autobiography

formerly enslaved man who published his autobiography

Q4.
What term is used to refer to the fundamental right in English law that prevents people from unlawful imprisonment?
carpe diem
Correct answer: habeas corpus
veni vidi vici
pro bono
Q5.
In what year did the Zong Massacre occur?
1681
Correct answer: 1781
1881
1981
Q6.
James was the enslaved man whose court case helped to establish in 1772 that enslavement in England and Wales was unlawful.
Correct Answer: Somerset, somerset, Summerset, summerset, James Somerset

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