Purpose and preparation
The 1783 record historically titled the “Book of Negroes” lists Black people leaving New York under British protection. Its historical title is retained to identify the document; it is not terminology to apply casually to people today.
Enquiry question: What can an administrative record reveal about freedom—and what does it leave unsaid?
This is an adaptable 60-minute teaching suggestion, not a tested classroom case study or an exam-board endorsement. Check the current specification for your course and pupils. The external sources below are the materials for this activity; no separate Nexus Historia download pack is promised.
A 60-minute lesson
Establish context — 10 minutes
Explain the document’s evacuation context using The National Archives. Distinguish Black Loyalists from a single undifferentiated category of “the Black poor”.
Examine the evidence — 15 minutes
Select an entry and identify the information recorded about the person. Explain that the official description is not necessarily the person’s own voice.
Compare interpretations — 15 minutes
Compare two entries. Discuss differences without inventing biographies to fill the gaps.
Write an answer — 15 minutes
Write a supported answer about the record’s usefulness and limitations. Do not assume evacuation guarantees equal treatment afterwards.
Exit check — 5 minutes
Name one additional source needed to follow a person’s later experience.
Support and extension
Provide a short glossary, readable extracts and a table headed “claim / evidence / limitation”. Allow spoken or written responses. Check image and document permissions before reproducing material; linking to an archive is not a licence to republish every item.
Extension: trace a named individual through another archive record. Do not use fictional letters as testimony or ask pupils to role-play enslavement.
Assess the accuracy of the answer, its use of evidence and its recognition of uncertainty, rather than confidence or performance alone. Optional homework is additional to the 60-minute lesson.
Sources
Editorial review
Reviewed on 26 September 2026. Replaced an imprecise group label and invented soldier-letter case study with a specific archive enquiry; removed unsupported curriculum and download claims.