Who Killed William Robinson?

There is no dearth of teaching materials available on the web. Although this site is primarily a teaching resource, it is atypical; rather than providing lesson plans, its emphasis is on helping students understand the nature of historical evidence and the work of creating historical interpretation.

To do so, this well-designed site asks students to solve a historical whodunit. William Robinson, an African American, was murdered in the British colony of Salt Spring Island (British Columbia) in 1868. A local Penelekut Indian was later convicted of the murder, but the evidence fails to clearly establish his culpability. This site re-opens the case file, offering examples of the original evidence used in the trial, along with other sources, including inquests, trial records, newspaper accounts, diary entries, maps, private correspondence, and artistic depictions and reconstructions. Through these hundreds of images and documents—which together constitute a social history of ethnically and racially-mixed Salt Spring Island—students may pursue explanations for Robinson's murder, and more broadly, relations among white colonists, black settlers, and aboriginal peoples.

Read a more in-depth review written by Stephen Robertson of the University of Sydney at http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/432.

Or, explore other website reviews at http://historymatters.gmu.edu/browse/wwwhistory