News by Levels · Level 2 · Student worksheet

Objects From Havmanden Connect Personal and Colonial History

In this lesson: Connect the rings’ function with the limits of identifying the shoe.

Name: __________________________ Date: __________________

Read the story

Denmark’s National Museum reported a fine shoe fragment and two manillas from Havmanden, a shipwreck near Gothenburg. Manillas are metal rings used as payment in the slave trade.

The ship sank in 1683 after a mutiny. Experts think the shoe could have belonged to a governor, although they cannot identify its owner with certainty.

Source: National Museum of Denmark, 2026-11-11. https://via.ritzau.dk/pressemeddelelse/15279623/sjaelden-sko-og-slavebetaling-fundet-pa-dansk-slaveskib?lang=da&publisherId=13560791

Read and practise

1. What were manillas used for?

   1. Payment in the slave trade
   2. Fastening a sailor’s clothing
   3. Repairing the ship’s wooden hull

2. How certain is the governor connection?

   1. It is proved by an inscription
   2. The text rules it out completely
   3. It is a possibility

Your turn

Explain the difference between identifying an object’s use and identifying its owner here.

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Read online: https://newsbylevels.com/news/havmanden-shoe-manilla-shipwreck-find-november-2026/level-2/