Portraits of a Port
Middle/High (6-12)
Up to 80 students | 90 minutes
From the Wampanoag people’s encounter with Bartholomew Gosnold in 1602 to the peak years of the whaling industry in the 1850’s, the SouthCoast region evolved from a subsistence agricultural community to a prosperous port called New Bedford. In this 90-minute tour, students will explore the stories of individuals and groups – indigenous people, explorers, settlers, entrepreneurs, whalemen, freemen of color, formerly enslaved people, and abolitionists – who helped make New Bedford historically unique.
Learning standards will be met as students:
- Learn about the indigenous people of New England and explore the early relationships that developed between them and European settlers
- Discuss European explorers, including Bartholomew Gosnold
- Explore the relationships between Puritans, Pilgrims, and Quakers in the 17th and 18th centuries
- Identify important people and groups responsible for the growth of the port of New Bedford
- Discuss abolition and abolitionists and their contributions and significance in New Bedford
