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Unit notes and practice questions

Grade 9 History unit 6: Africa and the outside world 1500-1880s

Everything here is for unit 6 of the Grade 9 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 6
105–120
The textbook pages for unit 6

What unit 6 covers

  1. 1.Contact with the Outside World
  2. 2.Slavery
  3. 3.The "Legitimate" Trade
  4. 4.The White Settlement in South Africa
  5. 5.European Explorers and Missionaries

Short notes for unit 6

The cards filed under this chapter on the Grade 9 History page. Open one at a time.

PhasePeriodCharacteristics
Piratic Slave Trade15th century to 1580sIndividual merchants, adventurers, and sea robbers
Monopolistic Slave Trade1580s to 1690sState backed chartered monopoly companies, Triangular Trade
Free Trade1690s onwardsFierce competition between individual traders and monopoly companies

When you use it

Use this table when categorising the three historical stages, timeframes, and main actors of the Atlantic slave trade.

Watch out

Do not confuse the Free Trade phase with legitimate commerce. The Free Trade phase was still part of the slave trade.

Drafted from Grade 9 History, pages 105-120, then checked twice before it went up

EventPeriodCore Causes and Outcomes
Khoi-Dutch Wars1659 and 1673 to 1677Dutch encroachment on Khoisan grazing lands; loss of Khoisan independence
Xhosa Frontier Wars1779 to 1870sNine frontier wars over fertile Zuurveld grazing territory
The Great Trek1835 to 1840sBoer migration northward to escape British rule, slave abolition, and equality laws

When you use it

Use this card to review early Dutch and British colonial expansion and the resistance of indigenous South African peoples.

Watch out

The British captured the Cape in 1795 to block France, not to protect the indigenous population.

Drafted from Grade 9 History, pages 105-120, then checked twice before it went up

LegRouteCargo and Commodities
First LegEurope to AfricaManufactured goods, firearms, alcohol, cotton, metal wares
Middle PassageAfrica to AmericasEnslaved African laborers
Final LegAmericas to EuropeRaw materials, sugar, tobacco, coffee, cotton

When you use it

Use this card to identify the geographic legs, flow direction, and goods exchanged across the three continents.

Watch out

Slaves were transported from Africa to the Americas, not directly from Africa to Europe.

Drafted from Grade 9 History, pages 105-120, then checked twice before it went up

Practice questions on unit 6

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

Question 1

When the Portuguese first explored the West African coast, what was their immediate goal?

  1. A.To conquer the Cape of Good Hope
  2. B.To reach the Americas across the Atlantic
  3. C.To bypass Muslim North Africa and access West African gold
  4. D.To establish large tea plantations in West Africa
Show the answer and why

Answer: C To bypass Muslim North Africa and access West African gold

Why

Reaching India was Portugal's distant goal, but their immediate goal was to bypass Muslim North Africa and gain direct access to the gold producing areas of West Africa.

Question 2

In 1482, the Portuguese built their first permanent trading fortress, the Castle of Elmina, on the coast of which modern African country?

  1. A.Ghana
  2. B.Senegal
  3. C.Morocco
  4. D.Angola
Show the answer and why

Answer: A Ghana

Why

The Portuguese built the Castle of Elmina in 1482 on the Gold Coast, which is present-day Ghana.

Question 3

The Trans-Atlantic slave trade was also known as the Triangular Trade because it connected which three continents?

  1. A.Africa, Asia, and Europe
  2. B.Africa, America, and Europe
  3. C.Europe, Asia, and America
  4. D.Africa, Australia, and Europe
Show the answer and why

Answer: B Africa, America, and Europe

Why

The trade formed a triangle linking Africa (source of enslaved labour), the Americas (plantations and mines), and Europe (manufactured goods).

Question 4

What was the first phase of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade called?

  1. A.The Monopolistic slave trade
  2. B.The Free trade phase
  3. C.The Piratic slave trade
  4. D.The Legitimate trade
Show the answer and why

Answer: C The Piratic slave trade

Why

The first phase (from the 15th century to the 1580s) was the Piratic slave trade, carried out by individual merchants, navigators, and sea robbers.

Question 5

Why did European plantation owners in America turn to enslaved West Africans instead of Native Americans or European labourers?

  1. A.Native Americans refused to mine gold and Europeans had no ships
  2. B.Native Americans died of imported diseases and white slaves could not endure the tropical climate
  3. C.Enslaved Africans offered to work voluntarily on sugar plantations
  4. D.European governments banned all trade with the Americas
Show the answer and why

Answer: B Native Americans died of imported diseases and white slaves could not endure the tropical climate

Why

Native Americans died in huge numbers from European diseases and harsh treatment, while white labourers from Europe could not endure the tropical climate, leading Europeans to import enslaved Africans.

Question 6

Which American food crops were introduced to West and Central Africa as a result of early European trade?

  1. A.Teff and barley
  2. B.Wheat and rice
  3. C.Maize and cassava
  4. D.Enset and sorghum
Show the answer and why

Answer: C Maize and cassava

Why

European contact with the Americas led to the spread of American crops to Africa, especially maize and cassava, which supported population growth in the 16th and 17th centuries.

Question 7

What did the term legitimate trade refer to in 19th-century West Africa?

  1. A.Trade in cash crops and raw materials instead of human slaves
  2. B.Trade conducted exclusively between African kingdoms without Europeans
  3. C.The illegal smuggling of enslaved people across the Sahara
  4. D.The exchange of weapons for gold across the Red Sea
Show the answer and why

Answer: A Trade in cash crops and raw materials instead of human slaves

Why

Legitimate trade was the commercial trade in agricultural raw materials (such as palm oil, groundnuts, rubber, and gum Arabic) that replaced the export of enslaved people in the 19th century.

Question 8

Why did the British government seize the Cape Colony from the Dutch in 1795?

  1. A.To discover gold in Zuurveld
  2. B.To prevent it from falling into the hands of the French
  3. C.To support the Khoisan against Boer farmers
  4. D.To stop the Great Trek
Show the answer and why

Answer: B To prevent it from falling into the hands of the French

Why

The British occupied the Cape in 1795 for strategic reasons to keep this important naval and trade station from being captured by the French.

Question 9

In which African kingdom did Portuguese Catholic missionaries achieve early success when a Christian convert became king in 1506?

  1. A.Songhai
  2. B.Benin
  3. C.Kongo
  4. D.Mali
Show the answer and why

Answer: C Kongo

Why

While Portuguese missionaries made little progress in Benin and other states, they saw greater success in Kongo, where a Christian convert took the throne in 1506.

Question 10

How did the monopolistic phase of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade (starting in the 1580s) differ from the earlier piratic phase?

  1. A.It was operated by state-supported chartered companies with armed forces
  2. B.It was conducted entirely by independent sea pirates
  3. C.It outlawed the use of firearms in exchanging for captives
  4. D.It shifted all slave export routes to the Red Sea
Show the answer and why

Answer: A It was operated by state-supported chartered companies with armed forces

Why

In the monopolistic phase, large trading companies officially backed by their national governments and armed forces took control of the trade, increasing its scale and profits.

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

The textbook pages for unit 6

Unit 6 runs from page 105 to page 120 of the Ministry of Education edition.

Ministry of Education edition, English, 217 pages

Download the PDF

All Grade 9 History short notes

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