Five 12-minute Social Studies programs for Grades 9 through 12,
broadcast statewide on Wisconsin's Public TV Stations.
Please visit our Digital Parade for broadcast dates, times, and series descriptions
The program titles below are linked to corresponding teacher materials,
which are in PDF format and require Adobe Acrobat Reader.
Program 1: "Africans Become Slaves for the New World"
In the late 1400s, when the demand for slave labor arose in the Caribbean and the Americas, slavery had been a common practice in Africa for at least a century.
The Africans, skilled laborers and experts in tropical agriculture, were well suited for
the New World's plantations and immune to diseases indigenous to tropical climes, such
as malaria and yellow fever. In Program 1, Captain Bill Pinckney, a U.S. Navy veteran and Coast Guard-licensed captain, examines how the blood, sweat, and tears of his ancestors played a crucial role in the establishment of the world's economy.
Program 2: "Journey to the New World"
African slaves aboard the Middle Passages vessels were subjected to unbelievably poor conditions. Hundreds were crammed into ships and chained so closely together that many could not unfold their arms or legs for the 3,700-mile trip. During this brutal period, an estimated two million slaves died from disease or physical violence committed by the ships' crews. Join Captain Pinckney aboard the Amistad America, a replica of the ship on which
53 African captives revolted and overtook in 1839, to witness some of the hardships the slaves endured on a most-difficult journey.
Program 3: "Becoming a Slave in Brazil"
African slaves were first brought to Brazil in the early 1500s. South America's rich soil
and tropical environment supported the cultivation of sugar for nearly the entire world.
Sugar plantations required a huge work force to meet the high demand for the sweet commodity. Here, Captain Pinckney explores the regions of Brazil that capitalized on
the exchange of goods for African slaves.
Program 4: "Becoming a Slave in South Carolina"
As skilled prospects for the stringent labor requirements of the "low country," where rice and cotton were grown, African slaves were processed as a commodity and auctioned to plantations and businesses. Their "owners" would acquire great wealth from the exploits
of their "human property." Follow Captain Pinckney as he visits Charleston, South Carolina—just one of several U.S. regions that processed and sold shiploads of slaves.
Program 5: "Becoming a Slave in Canada"
Slavery in Canada began in the 1600s. There, most slaves were used as domestic house servants, although some performed agricultural labor. Program 5 examines the circumstances under which several African slaves were brought to Montreal, and it features historians who are trying to preserve the story of African slaves in Canada's past.
