Captain Cook
John Newton
What’s So Great About Gold, Anyway?
Ottobah Cugoano
Teacher Trivia
100

What country sent Captain Cook on his voyage?

Great Britain

100

What famous hymn did John Newton write?

Amazing Grace

100

What metal helped fuel the Age of Exploration?

Gold

100

Where was Cugoano when he was kidnapped?

He was playing in a field with other boys and girls

100

Ms. V frequently says to use your ___________.

NOGGIN!

200

What did Britain claim was the purpose of Cook’s voyage?

Travel to Tahiti to observe Venus for scientific purposes

200

What job did Newton have before becoming a minister?

He was a sailor/slave trader and eventually captained ships involved in the slave trade

200

Name two qualities that make gold valuable.

it is scarce, stable, easily identifiable, AND beautiful.

200

About how many other boys and girls were kidnapped with Cugoano?

About 18–20

200

When is Ms. V's birthday?

October 20th!

300

What was Cook’s real secret mission?

To search for lands not already claimed by Europeans, map them, and claim suitable locations for Britain

300

What major event caused Newton to begin renewing his faith?

He was steering a ship through a fierce storm in 1748 and began turning back toward his faith

300

What happened to prices in Europe after large amounts of gold and silver arrived?

Prices skyrocketed/increased dramatically. The European economy was disrupted.

300

Why were Cugoano’s cries and tears unable to help him?

His captors would not release him, and he was forcibly taken away from his family and freedom

300

What does Ms.Trapani do when she is not at Kirby?

She helps manage an animal rescue

400

How did Cook’s actions in New Zealand differ from the instructions he received?

He had been instructed to cultivate friendship and alliances with Indigenous people, but he ignored that instruction and killed nine Māori

400

How did Newton’s view of the slave trade change later in his life?

He went from participating in and profiting from the slave trade to feeling remorse and publicly working against it

400

Why was gold more useful for trade than substances like iron, potassium, or gases?

Gold is stable and easily identifiable. It does not rust like iron, react with water like potassium, or become difficult to see or carry like a gas.


400

What does Cugoano mean when he says the experience “still pant[s] in my heart”?

The memory and pain of what happened still affect him emotionally even many years later

500

Why might different Māori people have different reactions to Britain’s 2019 statement of regret?

Some saw Cook as responsible for violence and destruction and believed Britain's response did not go far enough. Others viewed the expression of regret as an opportunity to begin dialogue and reconciliation

500

Explain the transformation John Newton experienced from earlier to later in his life.

Newton began as a sailor and slave trader who saw no conflict between slavery and his growing faith. Later, he regretted his involvement, supported abolitionists, wrote about the horrors of the slave trade, and testified against slavery.

500

Explain one positive quality of gold and one serious consequence of Europeans searching for it.

Gold was useful because it was scarce and stable, but Europeans searching for gold colonized inhabited lands and exploited, enslaved, or killed Indigenous people.

500

What is Cugoano’s overall purpose for writing this passage? Use one detail to support your answer.

His purpose is to expose and condemn the cruelty of the slave trade. He describes being kidnapped, separated from his family, and forced into a “state of horror and slavery.” He also calls the slave trade a disgrace.