US History - Triangle/Slave Trade & Mercantilism
EQ: What was the triangle trade?
Do Now: What was one cause of the triangle trade or slave trade?
This Lesson Overview is provided as a quick and easy lesson plan format for teachers.
Lesson Procedures are located at bottom of lesson for individuals/groups/pairs.
Print Lesson and complete as needed.
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| Utilized | Activity | Time Allocated | Mode of Activity | |||||
| ____ | Do Now | _________ / 2-5 Min | (Individual / Think-Pair-Share / Pair / Group #____) | |||||
| ____ | Mini Lesson | _________/ 15-20 Min | (Individual / Think-Pair-Share / Pair / Group #____) | |||||
| ____ | Activity | _________ / 20-30 Min | (Individual / Think-Pair-Share / Pair / Group #_____) | |||||
| ____ | Discussion/Exit Ticket | _________ / 5-10 Min | (Individual / Think-Pair-Share / Pair / Group #____) | |||||
| ____ | Assessment | _________ / 10-40 Min | (Individual / Think-Pair-Share / Pair / Group #____) | |||||
| ____ | Conferencing | _________ Min | (Individual / Pair / Group #____ / Throughout Class Period) | |||||
Triangle Trade and Slavery
As colonies in the Americas grew, so did the need for cheap, reliable labor. At first, European settlers attempted to enslave Native Americans. This was a failure because Native Americans were unsuited to plantation work. Also, it was easy for them to escape and return to their people. Europeans then turned to Africa for its labor source. Starting in the 1500s, large numbers of Africans were bought and transported to the Americas for agricultural work. This trade eventually became very large and profitable and was known as the Triangle Trade due to goods and people moving from Europe to Africa to the Americas. The slave trade resulted in the African Diaspora, which is the large, forced migration of millions of people.
Mercantilism
Mercantilism is the policy of building a nation's wealth by exporting more goods than it imports. Colonies were instrumental in this policy as they supplied their parent nations with raw materials that were used to produce finished goods, and then exported back to the colonies. Colonies not only served as a source for the raw materials, but also as an exclusive market for the parent country. The result of this policy was the further weakening of the feudal system and the rise of the Middle Class as the dominating force in Europe.
Activities
Lesson PowerPoint: Triangle Trade
Lesson Video: Triangle Trade
Lesson Activity:
- Write a Reflection and Summary Paragraph about the slave trade/triangle trade