• Will of George Africanus

Learning objectives:

• To use archive items to discover historical information
• To use archive items as an aid to historical interpretation

1. Using the first page of George Africanus' will, students should scan and highlight those paragraphs and sentences that relate to Africanus' wife, daughter and son-in-law.
2. Students should identify any words, expressions or sentences that they do not know or understand, for discussion with the class and teacher.
3. Using their judgement and imagination, students should speculate on what may have led Africanus to include lines 3-19 in his will. Students' notes can be used for a wider class discussion.

Activity 1a

In pairs, students use magnifying glasses to scan the will for important facts about Africanus, which are recorded on mind maps and then transferred to a central mind map on the board. This activity works best if a timer or piece of music like 'Mission Impossible' is used to focus students' efforts.

Transcript - The Last Will and Testament of George Africanus, Page 1 (22 kb)

Learning objectives:

• To explore and interpret archive items
• To develop empathy with historic Nottinghamshire characters

1. Divide the class into groups of 'beneficiaries' of George Africanus' will: Esther, his wife; Hannah, his daughter; and Samuel Cropper, his son-in-law.
2. In their groups, ask the students how they feel about the provisions of the will: Is it fair? Who should get what? What would they do differently?
3. Ask students to speculate on what may have led Africanus to include lines 3-19 in his will.

• The plans of George Africanus' property in Nottingham

Learning objectives:

• To use archive items to identify historic information
• To make judgements about the strengths and weaknesses of archive items for historic enquiry

1. In groups, students should examine each archive item
2. Groups should create charts detailing a) the information they have discovered, and b) any outstanding questions they have

(For example we know where Africanus bought his house, but do we know what type of area it was in? How might we find out? What sort of evidence would we need to be sure?)

• Burial of George Africanus

Learning objectives.

• To use archive items to 'tell the story' of George Africanus' life
• To draw conclusions from historical evidence and interpret archive items

Using the archive items for this topic and the summary page, students should plan an obituary for George Africanus. They should consider:

• Who they are writing for, who is the audience?
• What are the main stages in Africanus' life?
• What characters from Africanus' life they would interview and what questions they would ask
• What other information they need to tell the full story, and where they might find that information
• What their opinion of Africanus is and what evidence they have to support that opinion

An example of an obituary can be found at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/1576977.stm

• Nottingham, 1831

Learning objectives:

• To draw comparisons between historical characters and people in our own communities
• To make judgements from historical evidence
• To use archive items to support speculation about the motives and opinions of George Africanus

1. Start by asking students what a typical person is like today: what sort of job they have; where they live; what sort of school they go to; what their family is like etc.
2. Using the Marriage of George Africanus, 1788, the Watch and Ward Register, 1816,  and other items in the archive, ask the students to make a judgement about how typical George was for his time, they might want to consider his:

• Occupation
• Living conditions
• Family
• Opinions

In particular, ask students to speculate on Africanus' view of the 'Address' on the utility of refraining from the use of 'West India Sugar and Rum' (1).