Britain, trade and transatlantic slavery
The triangular trade shaped ports, fortunes and lives on three continents. Studying it means facing the evidence directly and carefully.
Part of your national curriculum
- Britain 1066-1901: Understand Britain's transatlantic slave trade, its effects and its eventual abolition
- Challenges 1901 to the present: Understand Britain's transatlantic slave trade, its effects and its eventual abolition, in the context of empire
Lesson overview
What you'll learn in this lesson
Describe Britain's role in transatlantic slavery
Key learning points
- • The triangular trade
- • Where the profit went
This lesson at a glance
- 30 minutes
- 21 parts to scroll through
- 3 quick checks
- Marked quiz at the end
- Gentle pace: short sittings with pauses
Words to know
Scroll down — the lesson carries on below
Watch & discover
Part 1 of 21
Watch first
Britain, trade and transatlantic slavery
Ships, maps and trade routes: how the transatlantic system worked.
In a nutshell
Describe Britain's role in transatlantic slavery
What you already know
Part 2 of 21
Before we start
What you already know
You should already know that Britain built an empire and traded across the Atlantic, and that enslaved people were treated as property under the law.
Key words
Part 3 of 21
Key words
Words you'll need today
- Transatlantic slave trade
- The forced transport and sale of millions of African people across the Atlantic.
- Triangular trade
- The three-legged trading route between Europe, West Africa and the Americas.
- Middle Passage
- The brutal Atlantic crossing endured by enslaved Africans.
- Plantation
- A large estate producing crops such as sugar using enslaved labour.
Reset break
Part 4 of 21
Pause
That's sitting 1 of 5 done
Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Learning cycle
Part 5 of 21
Learning cycle 1 of 2
How the trade worked
A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.
Explore the idea
Part 6 of 21
Learn
The triangular trade
Manufactured goods went to West Africa; enslaved people were transported across the Atlantic in appalling conditions; sugar, tobacco and cotton returned to Britain.
Quick check
Part 7 of 21
Reset break
Part 8 of 21
Pause
That's sitting 2 of 5 done
Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Quick check
Part 9 of 21
Learning cycle
Part 10 of 21
Learning cycle 2 of 2
Who profited
A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.
Explore the idea
Part 11 of 21
Learn
Where the profit went
Bristol, Liverpool and London grew on the trade, and profits funded banks, houses and civic buildings still standing today.
Reset break
Part 12 of 21
Pause
That's sitting 3 of 5 done
Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Quick check
Part 13 of 21
Common mix-ups
Part 14 of 21
Common mix-ups
Things people often get wrong
- People often describe enslaved people only as victims. They were people with names, families, skills and beliefs, and they resisted.
- People often think only ports profited. Banks, insurers, manufacturers and investors far inland also gained.
Challenge round
Part 15 of 21
Game · Sort it
Which of these are true?
Drag each card into the right column. Tap a card first if dragging is fiddly.
True
Not true
Reset break
Part 16 of 21
Pause
That's sitting 4 of 5 done
Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Challenge round
Part 17 of 21
Game · Fill the gaps
Finish the sentences
Choose the word that belongs in each gap.
Manufactured goods went to West Africa; enslaved people were transported across the Atlantic in appalling conditions; sugar, tobacco and cotton returned to ____.
Challenge round
Part 18 of 21
Game · Recall cards
Why is testimony from formerly enslaved people such as Olaudah Equiano so valuable to historians?
Card 1 of 4
Exit quiz
Part 19 of 21
Exit quiz
Show what you've learned
6 questions, marked together at the end. Nothing is timed.
1. The triangular trade linked…
2. The Middle Passage was…
3. Plantation crops sold in Britain included…
4. Profit from slavery reached…
5. Enslaved people are best described as…
6. Why study economic records alongside testimony?
Mastery quiz
Part 20 of 21
Marked quiz
End of lesson quiz: Britain, trade and transatlantic slavery
4 questions, marked with the reasoning shown. No timer.
1. Why is testimony from formerly enslaved people such as Olaudah Equiano so valuable to historians?
2. The middle passage refers to…
3. Which British ports grew on this trade?
4. Goods returning to Britain included…
Lesson round-up
Part 21 of 21
Lesson round-up
Ready when you are
Quiz score
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Understand Britain's transatlantic slave trade, its effects and its eventual abolition
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Understand Britain's transatlantic slave trade, its effects and its eventual abolition, in the context of empire