Was there more continuity than change in British-Jamaican relations between 1760 and 1870?

Below are the PowerPoint lessons of the enquiry. They include ‘teacher notes’, explanation of activities, notice of the required resources for teaching and relevant clips.

Lesson 0 – What do I know of Transatlantic Slavery? – to be completed at home prior to starting the taught enquiry is a set of essential and optional readings with comprehension questions to support student note-taking.

Lesson 1 – Why study British-Jamaican history between 1760 and 1870? – is an introduction to the topic and allows students to return to prior knowledge about slavery and raise conceptions or misconceptions they may hold.

Lesson 2 – introduces students – through the chronological bookends of Tacky’s Revolt and the Morant Bay Rising – to the Enquiry question. This is a set piece lesson that exists not only to generate the desire to enquire into the changes and continuities of the period, but also to begin to secure a basic chronological overview of the period. Get this one right.

The next five lessons enquire into the pace (when and how quickly?) and extent (how far?) of change our five areas of historical focus. All five ‘themes‘ encourage students to consider the changes and continuities that occurred between 1760 and 1870 and will help them answer the wider ‘Enquiry Question’. As previously mentioned these are as follows:

• British Public Opinion towards/against Transatlantic Slavery
• The rise and fall of the ‘West Indian’ Economy*
• The extent of change ushered in by Emancipation*
• The changes in forms of resistance by the colonised
• The changes in constructions of race in both Jamaica and England

*Rooted in the academic debate, students are invited in additional lessons to consider interpretations on the decline of the ‘West-Indian’ economy and the extent of emancipation brought about in 1838.

Where did this come from?

The following sequence of lessons were produced as a response to a 2019 fellowship coordinated by the Justice2History, the Legacies of British Slave-Ownership and the Historical Association. A fuller explanation for teachers and students are also available.

How does each lesson work?

Each lesson includes a brief explanation and learning objectives, a PowerPoint, a collection of Essential Resources for the lesson as well as other relevant resources for students and teachers.