Enslaved Africans in Upper Canada Online Exhibit

History/ Grade 12/ Communities: Local, National, and Global

Overview

This lesson revolves around the use of primary source documents, and requires students to use a number of skills, including interpretation, analysis, critical thinking, and communication.

The primary source materials are based on archival documents, newspaper articles and advertisements, diaries, and letters, which provide information on the ownership and experience of enslaved Africans. Many of the documents are from the collection of the Archives of Ontario, and all of them appear in the online and traveling exhibits.

Purpose

• To give students a better understanding of the existence and practice of slavery in the area that came to be called Upper Canada between the years 1760 and 1834, with a specific focus on the experience of enslaved Africans.
• To provide students an opportunity to consider some of the conditions and circumstances of enslavement.

Strand: History/Grade 12/ Communities: Local, National, and Global

Author: Natasha Henry and Adrienne Shadd