Before Reading: read through the questions aligned with the document, notice

vocabulary words at the bottom of each document

During Reading: make note of where you found the evidence in the document to
answer the questions (paragraph #)

After Reading: use this evidence to organize a summary – is Equiano credible?

Why or why not?

T-P-S: 30 seconds to share if you think Equiano is credible or not

Notes

Document C: Slave Ship Doctor

1) (Sourcing) Who was Falconbridge? How might his background have

influenced what he wrote about the Middle Passage?
Falconbridge was a doctor on British slave ships during the 1780s. His background
in health may have allowed him to be more easily identify health issues and
concerns that appeared on those ships, and the extreme conditions of them.

2) (Close Reading) How might the conditions on the ship have been connected
to the diseases that were so common among slaves?
With such poor conditions for eating, using the bathroom, and being in such close
contact with each other, the overall health of the slaves at a higher risk.

3) (Close reading) Why do you think Falconbridge said that most surgeons only
worked on slave ships because of their financial situation?
Notes

Document E: Autobiography of a Former Slave

1) (Sourcing) Who was Equiano? How might his background have influenced
what he wrote about the Middle Passage?
Looking at the introductory portion, Equiano was a slave who managed to buy his
freedom and then wrote an account of his experiences as a slave, both in being
transported to the new world and his time as a slave upon arrival. His background
influence mostly depends on where he was actually born.

2) (Close Reading) Why do you think slaves were punished for not eating?
Considering that slaves were considered products by European traders, if they did
not eat, the Europeans would lose profit if they were too weak to work or if they
died from starvation.

Closure
Write a summary answering the following question: Is Equiano a credible source?
Why or why not? What evidence from the documents supports your claim?
It is unsure as to whether he is credible or not, primarily because of the debate over
the location of his birth. Looking at the first document, the British doctor also
mentions that slaves were punished for not eating, so that is already two sources
who mention similar accounts.