This course will introduce the student to the history of the Atlantic slave trade from 1500 to 1900. The student will learn about the slave trade, its causes, and its effects on Africa, Europe, and the Americas. By the end of the course, the student will understand how the Atlantic slave trade began as a fledgling enterprise of the English, Portuguese, and Spanish in the 1500s and why, by the mid-eighteenth century, the trade dominated Atlantic societies and economies. Upon completion of this course, students will be able to: think analytically about the various meanings of 'slave' and 'slavery' during the age of the Atlantic slave trade; identify and describe the 'triangular trade' and define the Atlantic World; identify and describe the logic for enslavement of Africans by Europeans; identify and describe the African ethnic groups enslaved by Europeans and those captives' New World destinations; identify and describe the early slaving voyages of the Portuguese and Spanish. Students will also be able to describe how the Dutch and English later inserted themselves into the trade; identify and describe the expansion of the plantation complex in the New World in the 1600s and its impact on the Atlantic slave trade; identify and analyze the rise of European empires and the parallel expansion of the Atlantic slave trade; identify and analyze slavery within African societies. They will also be able to identify and describe the trans-Saharan slave trade and the Red Sea/Indian Ocean slave trade; identify and describe the nature of the African slave market and principal slaving ports in western Africa; analyze and describe New World slave societies and their impact on the Atlantic slave trade; identify and describe the 'Middle Passage' of the Atlantic slave trade; identify and describe the causes for the abolition of the Atlantic slave trade in the nineteenth century; analyze and interpret primary source documents that elucidate all aspects of the Atlantic slave trade. (History 311)

This lesson presents documents produced around and during the historic 1841 trial of 53 Africans, captured and sold as slaves, and subsequently accused of murder for commandeering the slave ship, Amistad, and killing its captain and cook. The site also contains a detailed lesson plan.

In July 1839, captive West Africans rebelled and took over the Spanish slaveship Amistad . They ordered the owners to Africa but, instead, the Amistad was taken on a meandering course, finally waylaid by a U.S. Navy brig. The Africans were charged with the murder of the captain and jailed in New Haven, Connecticut. Abolitionists came to their support; ex-President John Quincy Adams represented them in court. After a long legal battle, the Supreme Court freed the "mutineers" in 1841. The following year they returned to Africa.

This course will introduce the student to the history of the world's major civilizations from medieval times to the early modern era. The student will learn about the pivotal political, economic, and social changes that took place in Asia, Africa, the Americas, and Europe during this period. By the end of the course, the student will understand how many different civilizations evolved from isolated societies into expansive, interconnected empires capable of exerting global influence. Upon completion of this course, students will be able to: Think critically and analytically about world history in the medieval and early modern eras; Identify and describe the emergence, decline, and main features of the Byzantine Empire; Identify the origins and characteristics of the European medieval period and describe the rapidly changing forces at work in society, the economy, and religion during this time; Identify the origins of the Aztec and Inca civilizations and assess how these empires affected socio-economic development in the Americas; Identify the origins of the Tang and Song dynasties in China and assess the impact of these empires on Chinese government, society, religion, and economy during what scholars refer to as the 'golden age'; Identify the origins of the Mongol Empire, which dominated much of Asia in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Students will analyze the nature of this empire created by nomads; Identify the reasons for a changing balance in the world economy in the 1400s and analyze why Europe superseded Asia as the most dominant civilization on the globe; Assess how and why the European Age of Discovery had such a large impact on the New World, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia; Identify the origins and characteristics of the Renaissance and describe its impact on European civilization as a whole; Identify the origins of the Reformation and Counter-Reformation in Europe and assess how this movement altered the social, political, and religious fabric of Europe; Identify the origins of colonial Brazil and New Spain. Students will also be able to assess the impact of Spanish and Portuguese colonization on the New World, Africa, and Europe; Identify the origins of the Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal empires and assess the unique characteristics of these dynasties and their impact upon Asia and the world; Identify the origins of the Atlantic slave trade, assessing how this forced migration of peoples affected Africa, Africans, Europe, and the New World; Analyze and describe the Asian trading world, the Ming dynasty in China, the Ňwarring states,' and early modern eras in Japan; Analyze and interpret primary source documents from the medieval period to the early modern era using historical research methods. (History 221)

Dr. Stephen L. Chorover of the MIT Psychology Department talks about the medical community in the 1850's, and the means by which it justified slavery.

This course will introduce the student to United States history from the colonial period to the Civil War. The student will learn about the major political, economic, and social changes that took place in America during this 250-year period. Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to: Analyze the first encounters between the Native inhabitants of North America with Spanish, French, and English colonizers and determine the effect of European colonization on Native Americans; Describe and assess the creation of English/British America; Interpret the main social, political, and economic development of colonies in British North America, including the emergence of a slave economy; Analyze how and why an independent United States was created in 1776 by interpreting the ideological, political, and economic roots of American independence as it developed through the Seven YearsŐ War, the Imperial Crisis and the American Revolution; Analyze the myriad political and economic crises that plagued the Early American Republic in the 1780s and 1790s and identify and describe the expansion of slavery, partisan politics, economic innovation, westward expansion, and the outbreak of the War of 1812; Interpret the main developments of the Age of Jackson, the Indian Removal Act, the Nullification Crisis, the rise of the Whig Party, the Bank War; Interrogate the definition of 'democracy' in 1820s and 1830s America; Analyze the era of reform in antebellum America and identify and describe the emergence of new religious groups- Shakers, Mormons, evangelicals - as well as moral reformers who sought to curb alcoholism, improve the prison system, increase women's rights, end slavery, or modify the American education system; Analyze antebellum America and the emergence of sectionalism, and identify and describe how Northerners and Southerners apparently opposing viewpoints about labor systems, political economy, and race often obscured many similarities; Analyze the impact of the ideology of Manifest Destiny on the development of the American West as it affected Native Americans and white settlers; Identify and describe the West, the California Gold Rush, the Mexican War, and the contested boundary in the Pacific Northwest; Interpret how the question of slaveryŐs expansion affected American political parties, law, and created sectional conflict - both political and ideological - between 1820 and the 1850s; Analyze the American Civil War; identify and describe how and why the federal union that was created in 1776 collapsed in 1861; and assess the major facets of the war (including military engagements, the home fronts, Lincoln's presidency, and the question of slavery). (History 211)

Documenting African American history. Program 109 focuses on the seizure and transport of African men, women, and children to the United States and Atlantic coast colonies. The physical transport, called 'Middle Passage,' is illustrated via the use of a filmstrip on the topic prepared by the Afro Audiovisual Company of Boston. Additional segments include the 'Historical Minute' with Georgia State Representative Julian Bond, 'Information' on why the slave trade took place, a performance by mime Fred Johnson (Halim Adbur Rashid), a filmed segment with Byron Rushing, Director of the Museum of Afro-American History in Boston, on the aims of the museum and the difficulties in documenting African American history, segment interludes with Wolf (of the musical group Mandrill), Coffee Cave and Tasha Jones (then cast member of The Wiz); 'Book Beat,' and commentary by Sarah-Ann Shaw on Third World struggles for independence. Produced by Marita Rivero. Directed by Conrad White.

'Blast from the Past' with Rhody McCoy. Program is divided into two halves: the first consisting of two filmstrips related to the slave trade and the middle passage, the second of newsmagazine-style segments. In honor of Black History Month, Say Brother presents two filmstrips by the Afro Audiovisual Company of Boston: The Atlantic Slave Trade, Parts I and II (Middle Passage). Filmstrips discuss the events and conditions that led to the slave trade between the Americas and Africa, including the ways in which slaves were captured, the response of African kingdoms faced with the increased demand for slaves, and the way in which slaves were imprisoned, traded, branded, and delivered to buyers. Filmstrips touch upon the colonization of Africa by European countries as trade elevated, the impact on the culture and development of Africa due to the slave trade, and literature published to justify the slave trade that resulted in prejudice after slavery ended. Additional segments include 'Community Access' (about the Jamaica Plain-Roxbury Food Co-op), 'Blast from the Past' (with an excerpt from a Sarah-Ann Shaw interview with Rhody McCoy), and the 'Community Calendar.' Produced by Marita Rivero. Directed by Conrad White.

Historical justifications for the institution of slavery. Program focuses on the surgical and psychotropic research being proposed (and in some cases, implemented) to curb violent tendencies via the testing of prison inmates. Host Topper Carew speaks with inmates of the Massachusetts Correctional Institution at Norfolk and two groups of professionals in two separate interviews: the first with Rev. Edward Rodman (of the Episcopal Diocese of Boston) and Professor Stephan L. Chorover (of the MIT Psychology Department) to discuss 'psychosurgery'; the second with Arnold Coles (Chairman of the National Prisoners Reform Association) and Richard Clapp (formerly with the Prison Health Project) to discuss drug experimentation. Discussion topics included reactions to the theory of dysfunction in the brain as a source of violent behavior, whether surgery is necessary to remedy behavior, what the political implications of surgery are, what diseases 'pyschosurgery' is justified for, what the ethics of 'psychosurgery' are, and how drug companies end up doing much of their experimentation in prisons. Produced by Topper Carew. Directed by Conrad White.

This course introduces students to the political, economic, social, and cultural history of the United States of America from the first contact to 1850. Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to identify the influences of diverse global cultures on the development of an “American” culture and society; analyze the evolution of American political concepts and institutions; define the functions of government and its relationship to the citizen over different chronological periods; analyze the causes of the Market Revolution, and assess its impact on the American economy and society in the nineteenth century; identify the diverging economic, political, social, and cultural developments in the North and South by the mid-nineteenth century. This free course may be completed online at any time. It has been developed through a partnership with the Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges; the Saylor Foundation has modified some WSBCTC materials. (History 001)