Active Note-Taking Tips for Historical Source Reading

African Diaspora and Brazilian Slavery

1️. Organize Notes Using Purpose-Driven Categories
Instead of copying sentences, label your notes with quick categories such as:

• Key Facts / Key Terms (dates, locations, institutions)

• Cause → Effect (e.g., “Portuguese demand for labor → expansion of slave trade”)

• People & Groups (enslaved Africans, Portuguese traders, plantation owners)

• Important Places (Angola, Brazilian ports)

2️. Ask a Guiding Question for Each Paragraph

• Why did this happen?

• Who benefited? Who suffered?

• What changed because of this? 

3️. Capture Evidence + Interpretation Together
Every time you write down a fact or quote, add a “So what?” note:

“Brazil received the largest number of enslaved Africans.”
→ This made slavery central to Brazil’s economy and society.

4️. Pick One Signal of Emotions or Experience
Notice:

• personal voices (enslaved accounts),

• conditions during transport (Middle Passage),

• cultural retention and resistance.

Then record 1–2 short reactions per source:

How does this detail help us understand lived experiences?

This keeps humanity front-and-center in history.

Quick Visual Organizer

A simple table/graphic organizer you can use for each source:

Key Event / Idea Cause Effect Human Experience Evidence (quote or detail)