Module overview
This module explores themes and questions related to the many complex histories of slavery, abolitionism and emancipation. Slavery was once at the heart of the British colonial experience. By 1770, sugar-producing plantations worked by enslaved labourers from Africa had transformed the Caribbean, revolutionised British habits of consumption and lay at the centre Britain's lucrative colonial enterprise.
Aims and Objectives
Learning Outcomes
Knowledge and Understanding
Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:
- Efforts by slaveholders and their allies to prevent or delay the dismantling of British slave systems
- The role of enslaved people in opposing and resisting slavery
- The characteristics of slave societies and plantation economies in the British Caribbean
- The criticisms of slavery arising in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries
Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- Understand key debates that have divided historians of slave emancipation
- Analyse, interpret and use historical evidence
Transferable and Generic Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- Display effective time management in preparation of class and coursework assignments
- Work independently in preparing for class work and written assignments
- Critically assess large amounts of complex material
Syllabus
This module examines the slave systems of the British Empire. It looks at how enslaved people resisted these systems and at the ways in which men and women in the British isles criticized slavery. It begins by looking at the character of slavery in the British Caribbean, exploring the economic and social structure of slave societies. The module also investigates the rise in Britain of organised opposition to slavery and the slave trade after the 1780s.
Learning and Teaching
Teaching and learning methods
The module is taught via seminars. You will receive a pack of historical documents which will form the focus for weekly group discussions. You will also be encouraged to find additional sources in local libraries.
Learning activities include
- Reading and private study
- Group discussions
- Mini-presentations by students
| Type | Hours |
|---|---|
| Seminar | 44 |
| Preparation for scheduled sessions | 100 |
| Follow-up work | 100 |
| Completion of assessment task | 56 |
| Total study time | 300 |
Resources & Reading list
General Resources
Caribbean Slavery in the Atlantic World: A Student Reader; Hilary McD. Beckles and Verene A. Shepherd (eds); 2000.
The Antislavery Debate: Capitalism and Abolitionism as a Problem in Historical Interpretation; Thomas Bender; 1992.
The Atlantic Slave Trade and British Abolition, 1760 - 1810; Roger Anstey; 1975.
Assessment
Summative
This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.
| Method | Percentage contribution |
|---|---|
| Essay | 50% |
| Written assignment | 50% |
Referral
This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.
| Method | Percentage contribution |
|---|---|
| Resubmit assessments | 100% |
Repeat
An internal repeat is where you take all of your modules again, including any you passed. An external repeat is where you only re-take the modules you failed.
| Method | Percentage contribution |
|---|---|
| Essay | 50% |
| Written assignment | 50% |
Repeat Information
Repeat type: Internal & External