The arrival of European traders in West Africa
I can explain the impact of the Europeans arriving in West Africa on West African kingdoms.
The arrival of European traders in West Africa
I can explain the impact of the Europeans arriving in West Africa on West African kingdoms.
These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.
Lesson details
Key learning points
- Gold and the wealth of West African kingdoms brought the Europeans to West Africa.
- Power in West Africa became concentrated in smaller kingdoms who were able to trade with Europeans.
- The growth of Portuguese trade in the Sahel led to collapse of some African kingdoms, but also to the growth of others.
- Europeans soon started selling enslaved people in the Americas to make more profit.
Keywords
Enslaved people - enslaved people are people who have been forced to work without pay, lose their freedom and become the property of another person
Indentured labour - indentured labour is a system where someone is made to work without pay for a set period of time
Chattel slavery - chattel slavery is when people become legal property and cannot be freed without the permission of their slaveholder
Slaveholder - a slaveholder is someone who owned enslaved people
Common misconception
No one challenged the Portuguese when they began buying enslaved people to take to the Americas.
Many rulers and local people in West Africa were opposed to the trading of enslaved people from the very beginning.
To help you plan your year 8 history lesson on: The arrival of European traders in West Africa, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your year 8 history lesson on: The arrival of European traders in West Africa, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 3 history lessons from the Transatlantic Slavery: how were West African societies impacted? unit, dive into the full secondary history curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.
Content guidance
- Depiction or discussion of discriminatory behaviour
- Depiction or discussion of sensitive content
Supervision
Adult supervision recommended
Licence
Lesson video
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Starter quiz
6 Questions
Exit quiz
6 Questions
people forced to work without pay, or freedom
when someone is made to work without pay for a set time
when a people is made the legal property of another person
someone who owned enslaved people