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Unit notes and practice questions

Grade 10 History unit 2: Africa & the Colonial Experience(1880s -1960s)

Everything here is for unit 2 of the Grade 10 History textbook: what the chapter covers, the short notes, practice questions with their answers, and the lesson video where one exists.

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3
Cards
10
Practice questions on unit 2
24–43
The textbook pages for unit 2

What unit 2 covers

  1. 1.General Background to Colonialism
  2. 2.The Motives of European Colonialism
  3. 3.Scramble for Africa and the Berlin Conference
  4. 4.Colonial Policies and Administration
  5. 5.Company Rule
  6. 6.Direct Rule and Assimilation
  7. 7.Indirect Rule
  8. 8.Settlers Rule
  9. 9.Early African Resistance Movements Against
  10. 10.West Africa
  11. 11.Resistances in East Africa
  12. 12.Resistances in South Africa
  13. 13.Resistances in North Africa
  14. 14.Impacts of Colonial Rule on Africa
  15. 15.Political impacts
  16. 16.Economic impacts
  17. 17.Social impacts

Short notes for unit 2

The cards filed under this chapter on the Grade 10 History page. Open one at a time.

SystemEuropean PowerArchitect / Key FigureKey Characteristics
Company RuleBritainCecil Rhodes (B.S.A.C.)Private chartered companies governed territories until 1924. Failed due to financial shortage and harshness.
Direct Rule and AssimilationFrance, Belgium, Germany, PortugalAlbert Sarrout (France)Replaced indigenous rulers with Europeans. Aimed to extend European language and culture. Regarded colonies as extensions of the home country.
Indirect RuleBritainFrederick LugardRuled through indigenous traditional leaders and customary laws. Chosen as the cheapest and most effective method.
Settler RuleBritain, France (Algeria, Kenya, Southern Africa)White minority settlersDirect displacement of Africans from fertile land to create white-owned farms. Displaced Africans became low-wage labourers and tenants.

When you use it

Use to compare the governance models, key architects, and operational methods applied by European powers across colonial Africa.

Watch out

Do not confuse French assimilation with association, or assume Britain applied direct rule across its colonies.

Drafted from Grade 10 History, pages 24-44, then checked twice before it went up

Principle / DecisionTerms Stated in the General ActHistorical Consequence
Effective Occupation (Article 35)A power must sign treaties with local rulers, fly its flag, and set up an administration with police to keep order.Forced European nations to deploy troops and rapidly conquer the interior of Africa.
Doctrine of the Sphere of Influence (Article 34)Any fresh occupation of coastal land must be officially notified to other signatory powers.Prevented wars among European powers while carving up African borders.
Congo Free StateThe Congo basin was recognized as the personal private property of King Leopold II of Belgium.Subjected the local Congolese population to direct economic exploitation and forced labour.
Free NavigationGuaranteed free trade and open navigation along the Niger and Congo rivers.Allowed international commercial access across central and western African waterways.

When you use it

Use to review the international principles, agreements, and geopolitical outcomes that regulated the Scramble for Africa.

Watch out

No African delegates were invited or present at the Berlin Conference, and the Congo Free State was given to King Leopold II personally, not to the Belgian state.

Drafted from Grade 10 History, pages 24-44, then checked twice before it went up

Leader / MovementRegionColonial PowerKey Features and Outcome
Ahmadu SekuTukulor Empire (West Africa)FranceUsed diplomacy and then armed resistance. Defeated and died in exile in Sokoto.
Samori TureMandinka Empire (West Africa)FranceLed a 30,000 strong army in protracted warfare from 1882 to 1898. Captured and exiled to Gabon in 1900.
Asantehene PrempeAsante Kingdom (Gold Coast, Ghana)BritainArmed resistance against British expansion. Defeated, leading to British annexation of Gold Coast in 1900.
Kinjikitle Ngwale (Maji Maji)Tanganyika (German East Africa)GermanyMulti-ethnic rising (1905 to 1907) sparked by forced cotton farming. Crushed by German scorched earth tactics.
Samuel Maharero and Hendrik WitbooiSouth West Africa (Namibia)GermanyHerero (1904) and Nama (1905) rebellions against land seizure. Both uprisings were crushed.
Urabi PashaEgypt (North Africa)BritainNationalist revolt in 1881 against dual foreign control. Defeated in 1882 when British troops occupied Cairo.

When you use it

Use when identifying the leaders, regions, and opposing colonial powers in early armed struggles against European expansion.

Watch out

The Maji Maji uprising was fought against German colonial rule in Tanganyika, not against the British.

Drafted from Grade 10 History, pages 24-44, then checked twice before it went up

Practice questions on unit 2

10 multiple-choice questions written against this chapter, each with its answer and the reason. Try one before you open the answer.

Question 1

What was the term legitimate trade used to describe in nineteenth-century Africa?

  1. A.The illegal trade of enslaved people across the Sahara
  2. B.The exchange of African raw materials for European manufactured goods
  3. C.The trade conducted exclusively between independent African kingdoms
  4. D.The bartering of weapons for gold along the Nile River
Show the answer and why

Answer: B The exchange of African raw materials for European manufactured goods

Why

Following the abolition of the Atlantic slave trade, legitimate commerce referred to the commodity trade where African raw products, especially cash crops, were exchanged for European manufactured goods.

Question 2

Who presided as the leader of the Berlin Conference held between 1884 and 1885?

  1. A.King Leopold II
  2. B.Cecil Rhodes
  3. C.Otto von Bismarck
  4. D.Frederick Lugard
Show the answer and why

Answer: C Otto von Bismarck

Why

The German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck led the Berlin Conference in Germany to establish rules among European powers for the partition of Africa.

Question 3

Who was the main architect of the British policy of indirect rule in Africa?

  1. A.Frederick Lugard
  2. B.Albert Sarrout
  3. C.Rudyard Kipling
  4. D.H.M. Stanley
Show the answer and why

Answer: A Frederick Lugard

Why

Frederick Lugard was the architect of British indirect rule, which he practiced in Nigeria and British East Africa and described in his 1922 book.

Question 4

Which leader inspired the Maji Maji Uprising (1905-1907) against German colonial rule in Tanganyika?

  1. A.Urabi Pasha
  2. B.Kinjikitle Ngwale
  3. C.Ahmadu Seku
  4. D.Samuel Maharero
Show the answer and why

Answer: B Kinjikitle Ngwale

Why

The Maji Maji Uprising in Tanganyika was led by the prophet Kinjikitle Ngwale, who taught followers that sacred water would turn enemy bullets into water.

Question 5

According to the textbook, what was the primary role of most European explorers who arrived in Africa after the 1850s?

  1. A.They were purely scientific researchers seeking geography data
  2. B.They were agents acting on behalf of European governments
  3. C.They were independent merchants buying agricultural land
  4. D.They were medical volunteers treating tropical diseases
Show the answer and why

Answer: B They were agents acting on behalf of European governments

Why

While explorers before the 1850s were largely inspired by scientific inquiry, a considerable number of explorers arriving after the 1850s served as European government agents.

Question 6

Under the principle of effective occupation adopted at the Berlin Conference, what did a European power need to do to claim rights over African territory?

  1. A.Establish direct sea trade routes with the Red Sea coast
  2. B.Convert more than half of the indigenous population to Christianity
  3. C.Sign treaties, fly its flag, and establish an administration with a police force
  4. D.Build a transcontinental railway through the territory
Show the answer and why

Answer: C Sign treaties, fly its flag, and establish an administration with a police force

Why

Article 35 of the General Act required colonial powers to show effective possession through treaties with local leaders, flying their flag, and setting up an administrative and police presence.

Question 7

Which three territories were administered under company rule by the British South Africa Company (BSAC) until 1924?

  1. A.Nyasaland, Northern Rhodesia, and Southern Rhodesia
  2. B.Togo, Cameroon, and Tanganyika
  3. C.Kenya, Uganda, and Zanzibar
  4. D.Angola, Mozambique, and South West Africa
Show the answer and why

Answer: A Nyasaland, Northern Rhodesia, and Southern Rhodesia

Why

The British South Africa Company, under John Cecil Rhodes, governed Nyasaland, Northern Rhodesia, and Southern Rhodesia until 1924.

Question 8

In North Africa, which leader commanded the 1881 revolt against British and French dual control in Egypt?

  1. A.Khedive Ismael Pasha
  2. B.Hendrik Witbooi
  3. C.Colonel Urabi Pasha
  4. D.Samori Ture
Show the answer and why

Answer: C Colonel Urabi Pasha

Why

In 1881, the Egyptian people revolted against British and French dominance under the leadership of Colonel Urabi Pasha.

Question 9

What was the core principle of the French colonial policy of assimilation designed by Albert Sarrout?

  1. A.Relying on traditional customary law and local chiefs to rule
  2. B.Extending French language, laws, and culture on the assumption of French superiority
  3. C.Cooperating with African rulers as equal partners without changing their customs
  4. D.Allowing private charter companies to manage all judicial affairs
Show the answer and why

Answer: B Extending French language, laws, and culture on the assumption of French superiority

Why

French assimilation was based on the belief in the superiority of French culture, assuming that through French education and culture, Africans could become French citizens.

Question 10

Which two leaders headed the 1904 and 1905 anti-colonial rebellions against German rule in South West Africa (Namibia)?

  1. A.Ahmadu Seku and Samori Ture
  2. B.Samuel Maharero and Hendrik Witbooi
  3. C.Prempe and Kinjikitle Ngwale
  4. D.Urabi Pasha and Ismael Pasha
Show the answer and why

Answer: B Samuel Maharero and Hendrik Witbooi

Why

In South West Africa, the Herero people rebelled under Samuel Maharero in 1904, and the Nama people rebelled under Hendrik Witbooi in 1905.

The app holds 12 questions on this unit, marked as you go. These are the first 10.

The textbook pages for unit 2

Unit 2 runs from page 24 to page 43 of the Ministry of Education edition.

Ministry of Education edition, English, 243 pages

Download the PDF

All Grade 10 History short notes

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