1. Slavery Lab
Barbot & Equiano

2. Reading as an Historian
Given its origins and purpose, assess the values and limitations of [a document] to an historian studying [a topic]
Given its origins and purpose, assess the values and limitations of the Barbot and Equiano readings to an historian studying the slave trade

3. Questions to Consider
What did Europeans offer Africans in the slave trade? How were slaves obtained from the African interior? Do Barbot and Equiano agree on the methods used? How did Christianity interact with the slave trade? Does Barbot reflect Christian criteria in his account?
Are there any similarities between European and African descriptions of the trade? Does either account seem exaggerated for illustrative purposes?
Judging by Barbot’s account, were slave traders racist? Scholars debate whether Western racism helped cause the European treatment of slaves or was a result of it. What does Barbot’s account suggest? Is this a useful historical question?