Middle Passage

Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

1. Slavery was a crucial component of the triangular trade system in the Atlantic. What was the triangular system of trade? Which items were shipped across the Atlantic? What was the “Middle Passage”? During which years did this system of trade operate, and which countries participated?

Teaching Suggestion: These questions can help students gain a contextual foundation of the themes of The Black Atlantic, the Middle Passage, and Slavery and Imperialism, Colonialism, and American Identity before diving into the book.

• a Britannica article on the trans-Atlantic slave trade
• a brief article on the trading system from Lowcountry Digital History Initiative

2. Prior to the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863, some slaves were freed through acts of manumission in the United States. Consider some of the challenges these individuals would experience: Where do you think these former slaves would go for work? What would some of the difficulties be in their future?

Teaching Suggestion: This question can help students understand the decisions Rutherford and other freed slaves make in the novel.