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History Africa’s Sons Under Arms

Learning resources

Based on the 'Africa's Sons Under Arms' research project and working with the British Library, we have created a series of freely-available learning resources for use in the teaching of History at secondary school level. These explore how British-armed people of African descent served within the wider British army in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Access the learning resources here:

https://www.bl.uk/teaching-resources/west-india-regiment

The learning resources consist of 8 introductory essays and associated digitised primary sources - each with accompanying notes. The topics covered are:

Teacher's pack

In addition, a teacher's pack provides a range of suggested activities to support the use of the materials from the West India Regiment project website in the classroom. Subjects explored include colonial history, empire, the slave trade, and military history.

Access the teacher's pack here:

https://www.bl.uk/west-india-regiment
Workshop for teachers

To support the use of these learning resources, secondary History teachers are invited to special CPD events in London or the Coventry/Warwickshire region. These event will enable teachers to build on their knowledge of teaching race and empire in the classroom through object-based learning, extend best practice in developing students’ skills in historical enquiry and interpretation, and take away practical ideas for lessons. There will also be networking opportunities and refreshments provided.

The events are aimed at key stage 3, key stage 4 and A Level History teachers. Attendance is free, but booking in advance is required and places are limited.