Geography of the Triangular Trade Route Cathy Backer Essential Question: How did geography affect trade along the Triangular Trade Route? Objectives:

• CCO III: The student will utilize geographic tools to interpret and understand the past.

• Students will understand how geography affected the routes, goods, and people of the Triangular Trade Route.

Students should have a prior understanding of the 5 Themes of Geography

1. Location: an exact location on Earth’s surface 2. Place: physical and human characteristics that set a place apart from

other places 3. Movement: the movement of people and products between places 4. Regions: how a region is formed and how it changes 5. Human-Environmental Interaction: how humans interact with the

environment in positive and negative ways Resources

• Hakim, Joy. A History of US: Making Thirteen Colonies, Oxford University Press, Inc. 1993.

• Johnson, Charles. Soulcatcher and Other Short Stories, Twelve Powerful Tales about Slavery, Harcourt 1998.

• Nystrom Atlas of Our Country’s History, Nystrom, 2002. • The United States: Making a New Nation, Harcourt, Inc., 2007. • Primary source accounts of the Middle Passage and Document Analysis

Worksheet, Courtesy of Colonial Williamsburg Foundation • Flickr.com website for photos of Elmina Castle

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bdinphoenix/sets/72157594165594612/ • Maps101.com website for maps of Triangular Trade Route

http://www.maps101.com/Application/Catalog/Product.aspx?cid=273&pid=4248

Anticipatory Set • Project pictures of Elmina Castle on the Smart Board. Have students

discuss at their tables what they think the location and purpose of this building might be. Ask students to share their thoughts with the whole class. http://www.flickr.com/photos/bdinphoenix/sets/72157594165594612/

• Share with students the location and purpose of Elmina Castle.

Location: west coast of Africa in present-day Ghana (point this out on a wall map) Purpose: Built by the Portuguese in 1482 to strengthen their trade along the African coast. It was originally built as a trading post and later became a holding place for captured Africans to be placed on ships and sent to the New World as slaves.

• Read aloud “The Transmission”, a chapter from Soulcatcher and Other Short Stories, Twelve Powerful Tales about Slavery. This is an account of the Middle Passage journey of an African boy based on primary source documents. Afterwards, ask students to silently reflect on thoughts and feelings that the story gave them. Have them record these in their journals or social studies notebooks. Share with the class. Note: This particular story can be substituted with another account of an African’s journey through the Middle Passage.

• Project a map of the Triangular Trade Route on the Smart Board. http://www.maps101.com/Application/Catalog/Product.aspx?cid=273&pid=4248 Explain that while the shipping of slaves from Africa to the New World (called the Middle Passage) is fascinating to learn about, it was only one part of the trans-Atlantic trade that was taking place. Tell the students that we will be exploring the location of the ,routes traveled along the Triangular Trade Route, various goods that were traded, and how trade was affected by geography.

Procedures Provide students with the following materials to help them develop an understanding of the Triangular Trade Route.

1. Give each student a copy of chapter 38, “A Nasty Triangle” from Making Thirteen Colonies. Read the chapter together using guided reading questioning to help students understand the trade routes and reason for their development.

• Display world map on SmartBoard and draw triangles of trade and other objects as they are referred to in the chapter.

• Hold a class discussion and have the students discuss answers to these questions in their table groups. They can write the answers in their notebooks (formative assessment):

o How did the geography of New England affect their types of jobs? o How did the triangles of trade benefit the American colonies? o What was the cost to Africa? o How did geography affect contact between Europe and Africa? o At what point did more parts of Africa find themselves having more

contact with the outside world?

2. Divide students into groups of 3-4. Give each group copies of two primary source accounts of the Middle Passage. The accounts are from a captured African, a ship captain, and a physician. (courtesy of Colonial Williamsburg Foundation)

• Provide each group with a Document Analysis Worksheet (courtesy of Colonial Williamsburg Foundation) to complete after reading each account of the Middle Passage. Share findings with class. (formative assessment)

3. Provide students with various illustrations of the Triangular Trade Routes

that include items that were traded. (Teacher’s Note: Other textbooks or sources may be substituted for these items)

• Nystrom Atlas of Our Country’s History, p. 31 • The United States: Making a New Nation, p. 218 • Making Thirteen Colonies, p. 139 • http://www.maps101.com/Application/Catalog/Product.aspx?cid=273&pid

=4248

Have students compile the goods mentioned in each source that were traded along the various routes and record the goods on a world map. (Teacher Note: Provide each student with a copy of a world map or a map that covers the area of the trans-Atlantic trade.) (formative assessment)

After viewing the above sources, hold a class discussion about how these Geography themes relate to the Triangular Trade Route. (formative assessment)

• Location: Identify the points of trade in Africa, Europe, and the British colonies on a map.

• Place: Discuss the human and physical characteristics of each point along the trade route and how they differed from each other. Organize these characteristics in a SmartBoard chart while students record characteristics on paper copy.

• Movement: Discuss how the movement of goods was affected by the geographical location of the points of trade. (Use a wall map or SmartBoard map for discussion)

• Human-Environmental Interactions: Discuss how humans and the environment along the trade routes affected each other. Classify these affects as positive or negative and for whom they were positive or negative. Record ideas on SmartBoard chart while students record characteristics on paper copy.

Summative Assessment Students will write two different journal entries. One journal entry will be written from the point of view of a captured African and the other from the point of view of a ship captain. Each journal should:

• discuss the likely daily experiences of the African and the captain. • include references to at least 3 of the geography themes so that the

relationship between geography and the Triangular Trade Routes is clear (ie routes, goods, and people).

The Geography of the Triangular Trade Route Journal Scoring Guide

Name _______________________________

4 3 2 1

Organization of Ideas

Student organizes ideas effectively in journal entries

Student organizes ideas adequately in journal entries

Student somewhat organizes ideas in journal entries

Student’s ideas are not organized

Word Choice Student makes excellent use of vocabulary related to geographical themes

Student makes adequate use of vocabulary related to geographical themes

Student makes little use of vocabulary related to geographical themes

Student makes no use of vocabulary related to geographical themes

Content Student ties in at least 3 geography themes; relationship between geography and the trade routes is completely clear

Student ties in at least 3 geography themes; relationship between geography and the trade routes is adequately clear

Student ties in fewer than 3 geography themes; student attempts to show the relationship between geography and the trade routes

Student does not understand the relationship between geography and the trade routes

Human and Physical Characteristics of the Triangular Trade Route

Africa British ColoniesEurope

Human-Environmental Interactions

Positive Negative