The Atlantic slave trade: how it worked and what it did to millions of people

Grade 7 Social Studies Worksheet - Building Confidence

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   Counting the trade (cards A to C; summaries in our words). Card A, the SlaveVoyages database: historians built an open online database from ship records and other documents, so that anyone can search it. It estimates that about 12.5 million people were forced onto ships in Africa from the 1500s to 1866. Of those who reached the Americas, about 95 percent were taken to the Caribbean and South America, and less than 4 percent to North America. Card B, a Rice University news story (February 25, 2019): a writer for the university reports what historian Daniel Domingues says. Some 12 million people were forced onto ships, about 10 million arrived in the Americas, and about 2 million lost their lives during the crossing, called the Middle Passage. Brazil alone received about 4.9 million people from 1501 to 1866. Card C, a note on records: no one counted every voyage. Many voyage records are missing or incomplete, and many of the records that survive were kept by the merchants who ran the trade, to track money and goods. So every total is an estimate, and studies give slightly different totals, about 12 to 12.5 million.

2. 1.

   Ari opens card A. Who made this database, and from what?

   • Historians, working from ship records and other documents about the voyages
   • A news writer, retelling what a historian said for readers of a university site
   • A ship captain in the 1700s, writing the totals down as the voyages sailed
   • A government office that published its own count to defend the trade
3. 2.

   A student writes, "Exactly 12 million people were forced onto ships." Which card most directly challenges the word "exactly", Jun asks?

   • Card A, which says about 95 percent were taken to the Caribbean and South America
   • Card B, which says about 10 million arrived, so 12 million must be too high
   • No card, because a database and a news story that agree make the number exact
   • Card C, which says records are missing, so every total is an estimate
4. 3.

   Using card B, how many fewer people arrived in the Americas than were forced onto ships, Kira asks?

   • About 20 million, since 12 minus 10 is 2 and the unit here is tens of millions of people
   • About 4.9 million, the number card B gives for Brazil alone
   • About 2 million, matching the number card B says lost their lives on the crossing
   • About 22 million, found by adding the two totals together
5. 4.

   Luz reads that less than 4 percent went to North America (card A). Using card B's 10 million arrivals, fewer than about how many people is that?

   • Fewer than about 40,000, since 4 percent of 10 million is 40,000
   • Fewer than about 9.6 million, the number left after taking 4 percent away
   • Fewer than about 4 million, since 4 percent of 10 million is 4 million
   • Fewer than about 400,000, since 4 percent of 10 million is 400,000
6. 5.

   Card C says studies give slightly different totals. What most likely causes the differences, Milo asks?

   • Each team counts a different ocean, such as just the voyages that went to Brazil
   • Teams fill the gaps left by missing records in different ways
   • The records hold two different totals, so each team picks one at random
   • Merchants wrote false records on purpose, so no team can learn anything from them
7. 6.

   Card C says merchants kept many of the records. What should Noah keep in mind when using them?

   • They give the whole story, because the people who ran the trade knew it well
   • They were kept to track money and goods, so they say little about the captives themselves
   • They cannot be used by historians, since people who ran the trade would not write anything true
   • They are the main source for how farmers in Europe grew sugar and cotton
8. 7.

   Which sentence matches what card A says about where people were taken, Pia asks?

   • About 95 percent of all the people went to Brazil, because card B names Brazil
   • Nearly all who reached the Americas went to the Caribbean and South America
   • The people were taken in equal numbers to each region of the Americas
   • Most who reached the Americas went to North America, and few to the Caribbean
9. 8.

   Historians find a trader's ledger for a voyage the database did not list. What is the likely effect on card A's estimate, Ren asks?

   • No change, because a database is complete once it is published online for anyone to use
   • It becomes an exact count, because the new ledger fills the gap in the records
   • The estimate may rise a little, because one more voyage can now be counted
   • It must fall, because a new record shows the earlier counts were too high
10. 9.

    Card A is an open database anyone can search. What does that choice suggest about its makers' purpose, Tala asks?

    • They want just trained historians to read it, so it is hard to find
    • They want to sell the records to museums and libraries for a fee
    • They want others to check the records and the estimates for themselves
    • They want to show that no one needs to read the original voyage records
11. 10.

    Card B says Brazil received about 4.9 million people from 1501 to 1866. About how many people a year is that on average, Zee asks?

    • About 130,000 a year, since 4.9 million divided by 365 years is about 130,000
    • About 13,000 a year, since 4.9 million divided by 365 years is about 13,000
    • About 2,600 a year, since 4.9 million divided by 1,866 years is about 2,600
    • About 1,300 a year, since 4.9 million divided by 365 years is about 1,300