Analyzing a Harbor Master’s Map of Charlotte Amalie St. Thomas from 1822

In this activity, students will examine the details of a map of Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas from 1822, using the questions from an Analyze a Map worksheet. They will discuss the theme of people and environment by considering the importance of harbors to the Virgin Islands, and to the people of the Virgin Islands in the past and today. They will consider the jobs island residents have related to the harbors and ports, including harbor master.

Activity Type

Historical Period:

Keywords

About

This map was drawn by Levin Jørgen Rohde. He was born in 1786 and died in 1857. He was a commodore in the Royal Danish Navy, and harbor master of the port of St. Thomas, West Indies from 1819 to 1854. The map is called “Kort over havnen i Charlotte Amalie på St. Thomas”. It was drawn in 1822. (This information can be gathered from the map’s metadata which is presented on the same page as the map on the Danish National Archives website.)

Primary Sources in this Activity

Suggested Teaching Instructions

Before beginning this activity, help students to understand what a primary source is, have students provide examples of primary sources, help them with examples as needed, discuss why a map is a primary source, and discuss the difference between primary sources and secondary sources.

The teacher can ask students whether they know what a harbor is and discuss the definition of harbor. Merriam Webster Kids Dictionary defines harbor as “a part of a body of water (as a sea or lake) so protected as to be a place of safety for ships”.

Load the map onto an interactive smart board and have students make observations together. If there is not a smart board, students can work in small groups at computers.

Also load the Analyze a Map worksheet on the smart board or on computers so that you can lead students through discussing their answers to questions on the worksheet.

Analyze the Primary Source

The teacher or students can zoom into the map to examine the details. The teacher will help students to observe the map. Find the legend and read the information provided there, locate the scale, and find the measurements on the map. Pay close attention to all the measurements within the harbor area. Identify symbols on the map and discuss what they mean. Look at the names of places including beaches, estates, and cays. The teacher can have a current map of St. Thomas on hand to help students compare current names and those on the map from 1822. Ask students to observe whether any of the places have the same names today.

You may load the Analyze a Map worksheet on the smart board or on computers so that you can lead students through answering the questions, print the worksheet and distribute to your students, or adapt the questions from the worksheet to create your own. Primary Source Analysis Worksheets

After making observations of the map, answer the questions from the Analyze a Map worksheet. Students may need to continue viewing the map to complete the worksheet.

Class Discussion

The teacher can ask students to name the harbor(s) on the island they are living on, and the harbor(s) on the sister islands. The teacher can have a current map of St. Croix, St. Thomas, and St. John to help students identify the harbors.

Ask students, what is the job of the harbor master? A harbor master is an official that supervises harbor activity and makes sure the harbor rules are followed. Do students think there are still harbor masters working in the Virgin Islands today? Explain their answer. Have students think about a harbor (on the island where they live), and then think about what that same harbor might have looked like in 1822. Ask them to use what they know and their imagination. Ask students to describe what they thought about.

Help students understand what a port is, and how it is similar and different from a harbor. A port is a place at the edge of an ocean, river, or lake for ships to load and unload their cargo, it’s an area built by people, and there are usually cranes and other equipment for receiving containers and cargo from ships. Ports are where most of the goods we use arrive in the islands.

Have students list businesses, activities and jobs that are related to the harbors of the US Virgin Islands today? The teacher can write the list on the smart board. Next, have students list the activities and businesses related to the ports? The teacher can write the list on the smart board. The class can discuss whether the businesses, activities, and jobs that they compiled, existed in the mid-1800s? Are the harbors and the ports important to US Virgin Islands residents today? Explain their answer. Do students think the harbors and the ports were important to the Danish West Indies in the mid-1800s? Explain their answer.

Analyzing a Harbor Master’s Map of Charlotte Amalie St. Thomas from 1822

About

Primary Sources in this Activity

Suggested Teaching Instructions

Analyze the Primary Source

Class Discussion

Project Ideas

Related Books & Resources

Getting Started

Resources

FAQ

Activities

Coloring Pages

Worksheets

Contact Us