A Project Critical Web Quest

High School of International Business and Finance

New York City, NY

Presented by: Ms. Silverglad

Instructor: Global Studies

Slavery in the Dominican Republic (Santo Domingo)

A History of RACISM and inhumanity

Introduction:

It is the year 1776 and Santo Domingo was a Spanish colony. The indigenous peoples of the island have been systematically and violently killed. The colony subsisted on the labor of African slaves. The Triangle Trade was a brutal enterprise and the conditions endured by slaves in the New World were abominable.

Santo Domingo was a key factor that made Spain of the strongest empires in the world. Racism, in the 15^th and 16^th centuries led to the rise of nation states in Europe. Human rights violations were an acceptable consequence of mercantilism. Lives were traded for profits gained through Agrarian Capitalism and mining of gold, silver and other precious metals. Spanish ships actually sunk at sea on the weight of gold. Columbian exchange diseases went untreated and the labor of slaves wiped out much of the original population.

The quest for world domination required a huge labor force and African slaves along with the few surviving Dominican natives solved this social problem. However, solving the problem of labor shortage and Spanish dominance came at a high price for the human cargo that were brought to the Dominican Republic and other slave trading islands in the Caribbean. The slave codes created a second social problem-RACISM.

You have a chance as a historian to evaluate this cruel and inhuman epic in Global History. An epoch many want to forget but you can keep the memory alive. Believe it or not, slavery still exists in the modern world in different shapes and forms. In this web quest you can expose the cruelty of racism and set an example. Good luck!!!

Task:

You are part of a team of Abolitionists trying to bring freedom and equality to Latin America. With your organization, your job is to convince the colonial government of the Dominican Republic (Santo Domingo) to end the exploitation of Africans and create a society of equality. Your group of Abolitionists will have 10 minute audience with the Royal Governor of Santo Domingo to convince him to end this Human Rights Violation. You will use the four steps of the GLOBAL HISTORY PUBLIC POLICY ANALYST in your presentation, in conjunction with witness testimony, graphs, charts, statistics and other forms of evidence that will convince the governor to end this heinous crime against humanity.

Process:

1: Read responsibilities for each role and choose roles based on interests:

A. Project Manager: Lead your group into completing each expectation on time and manage the discussion and paperwork.

B. Recorder: Lead typist or scribe.

C. Designer: Develop the displays, props and/or costumes.

D. Editor: Check and help correct grammar, spelling and punctuation on all written components, fact check for verbal dialogue, consider adding more specific persons, places, periods, policies for the verbal presentation.

All group members regardless of roles are to actively participate in the research, discussion and final presentation.

2. Begin Research on overview of the Atlantic Slave Trade using your notebook and textbook.

Then use the INTERNET RESOURCES to further complete your Five Public Policy Analyst worksheets.

Use this research to complete the GHPPA worksheets.

The GHPPA worksheets will form the outline and factual basis for your oral presentation to the governor.

1. Follow the Steps of the Global History Public Policy Analyst:

Complete each worksheet for the four steps using the internet and outside resources.

Again remember-All four steps will be included in your presentation

Click on the hyperlinks below to access the steps of the GHPPA

1. Defining the Social Problem

2. Gathering the Evidence of the Problem

3. Determining the Cause of the Problem

4. Evaluating the Policy

4. Before beginning the GHPPA, be sure you read and understand the history of the country by studying the following links.

Age of Exploration - http://www.mrnussbaum.com/age.htm

Colonization - http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-coloniza.html

Mercantilism - http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/mercantilism.aspx

Know this vocabulary as well

Triangle Trade Encomienda System Slavery System Human Rights Violations Spain’s Empire

5. Brainstorm possible ideas based on your roles for the presentation to the colonial government in our groups of four..

6. Determine speaking parts and write arguments and/or testimony.

6. Design/create materials.

7. Review, revise and rehearse.

8. Present the GHPPA case to the Colonial Government of Santo Domingo, 1776.

Resources:

Age of Exploration

http://www.historyteacher.net/APEuroCourse/WebLinks/WebLinks-Age of fExploration.html

http://kids.yahoo.com/directory/School-Bell/Social-Studies/History/By-Subject/Exploration

Colonization

http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h436.html

http://www.spanishsuccession.nl/caribcol.html

http://caribbeanguide.info/past.and.present/history/spanish.exploration/

Mercantilism

http://www.economictheories.org/2008/08/mercantilism-in-spain-spanish.html

http://www.economicexpert.com/a/Mercantilism.html

Triangle Trade

http://www.socialstudiesforkids.com/articles/ushistory/triangulartrade.htm

http://www.africanculturalcenter.org/4_5slavery.html

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part1/1p277.html

http://www.melfisher.org/exhibitions/henriettamarie/middlepassage.htm

Encomienda System

http://www.millersville.edu/~columbus/papers/scott-m.html

http://historicaltextarchive.com/sections.php?action=read&artid=633

Slavery System

http://old.antislavery.org/breakingthesilence/slave_routes/slave_routes_dominicanrepublic.shtml

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/31/science/31slav.html

http://dr1.com/articles/history.shtml

http://caribbean-guide.info/past.and.present/history/

http://www.countriesquest.com/caribbean/cuba/history/spanish_rule/sugar_and_slaves.htm

http://www.mrdowling.com/710-slavery.html

Human Rights Violations

http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/

http://www.un.org/cyberschoolbus/humanrights/resources/quotable.asp

Spain’s Empire

http://www.nps.gov/history/seac/outline/07-exploration/index.htm

http://countrystudies.us/dominican-republic/3.htm

Evaluation:

CATEGORY	Sugar (above 90)	Mahogany (75 – 90)	Tobacco (65 – 75)	Cattle (below 65)
CONTENT	Shows a full understanding of the topic. USES ALL STEPS OF GHPPA	Shows a good understanding of the topic. USES three OF THE four STEPS OF THE GHPPA	Shows a good understanding of parts of the topic. USES ALL STEPS OF THE GHPPA WITH SOME ERRORS	Does not seem to understand the topic very well. INCORRECTLY USES OR FAILS TO USE GHPPA STEPS
CREATIVITY	Informative, engaging, passionate. Visuals are relevant & varied. Group is completely in character & makes a strong argument.	Somewhat engaging, & informative. Visuals are relevant but limited. Group is mainly in character & makes a strong argument.	Somewhat informative. Few visuals with group unconvincingly in character.	Adds no new information to the class & the group is not in character.
DETAIL	Correctly & cohesively incorporates at least 20 specific facts such as: actual persons, places, actions, events & practices.	Correctly & cohesively incorporates at least 15 specific facts such as actual persons, places, actions, events & practices.	Correctly & cohesively incorporates at least 10 specific facts such as: actual persons, places, actions, events & practices.	Only incorporates 7 facts or less and the inclusion is not cohesive.
GROUP PARTICIPATION (individual)	Always listens to, shares with, & supports the efforts of others in the group. Tries to keep people working well together.	Almost always listens to, shares with, & supports the efforts of others in the group. Does not cause "waves" in the group.	Usually listens to, shares with, & supports the efforts of others in the group but sometimes is not a good team member.	Occasionally listens to, shares with, & supports the efforts of others in the group. Often is not a good team member.
PREPAREDNESS (individual)	Student is completely prepared & has obviously researched, practiced & shown enthusiasm for the project.	Student seems pretty prepared but might have needed a couple more rehearsals & done more research.	The student is somewhat prepared, but it is clear that rehearsal & research was lacking.	Student does not seem at all prepared to present.

Conclusion: Modern day sweat shops:

"For the dead and the living. We must bear witness." -by Elie Wiesel.

You should’ve learned the atrocities of slavery in the New World and now as a historian, you can stand up for injustices in our modern world. You have seen the atrocities and inhumanity caused by Spanish slavery in the Dominican Republic. This was repeated through the New World. You also have experienced the role of the public policy analyst and historian. Read the quote above and you will understand the role of each. Thanks for your participation. Let’s hope you made a difference and exposed the cruelty of Dominican slavery and set an example for future generations.

STANDARDS ADDRESSED

Social Studies:

Standard 1:   History of the United States and New York

Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of major ideas, eras, themes, developments, and turning points in the history of the United States and New York.

Standard 5:   Civics, Citizenship, and Government

Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of the necessity for establishing governments; the governmental system of the United States and other nations; the United States Constitution; the basic civic values of American constitutional democracy; and the roles, rights, and responsibilities of citizenship, including avenues of participation.

English Language Arts

Standard 1: Students will listen, speak, read, and write for information and understanding; they will collect data, facts, and ideas and use

electronically produced texts.

Standard 4: Students will listen, speak, read, and write for social interaction