Cameroon GCE Ordinary Level History study guide
Cameroon GCE Ordinary Level History · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The General Certificate of Education Ordinary Level is one of the certificate examinations organised by the Cameroon GCE Board, a body created by Decree Nº 93/172 of 1 July 1993 and later reorganised by Decree No. 2018/614 of 22 October 2018, as modified by Decree No. 2019/100 of 4 March 2019. Under the Board's stated mission, the Ordinary Level is organised throughout the national territory in conformity with Law No. 98/004 of 14 April 1998 laying down guidelines for Education in Cameroon. Within the Board's structure, the GCE Ordinary Level unit sits under the Division of Examination, which is headed by a Deputy Registrar in charge of Examinations, while the Ordinary Level unit itself is headed by an Examination Officer. Topics on this exam: History. The Cameroon GCE Ordinary Level History study guide has 1 section and about 431 words.
01History: Colonial Cameroon, Mandates and Reunification
History is the single domain of the Cameroon GCE Ordinary Level History papers, which test secure chronology, explained causation and disciplined use of evidence. The Cameroon strand - German annexation, the First World War campaign, League mandates, UN trusteeship, decolonisation and reunification - is the most heavily examined and supplies this section's worked example. Examiners reward precise placement. Anchor these: the 12 July 1884 treaty between Gustav Nachtigal and Duala rulers; the 1884–85 Berlin Conference, which regulated partition but did not award Cameroon to Germany; the 1914–16 Allied campaign; the German surrender at Mora in 1916; the 1922 League of Nations mandates; the 1946 UN trusteeships; the 1955 banning of the UPC; the independence of French Cameroun on 1 January 1960; the plebiscites of 11 February 1961; reunification on 1 October 1961; and the 1972 referendum.
431 words, about 2 minMore study resources for Cameroon GCE Ordinary Level History
- Practice questionsWhich European power established the first permanent trading post on the coast of present-day Cameroon, at Bimbia, in the 19th century?
- FlashcardsRio dos Camarões. Name given by Portuguese explorers around 1472 to the Wouri estuary, meaning 'river of prawns'; it became the origin of the country's name Cameroon.
- Cheat sheetPre-colonial Cameroon: the Sao civilisation flourished around Lake Chad (roughly 9th–15th centuries); the Kanem-Bornu empire influenced the north; the Bamum kingdom (Foumban) and Bamileke chiefdoms developed in the western highlands; the Douala and Bassa peoples organised coastal trade societies.
- Key termsMandate. Legal authority granted by the League of Nations to a member state to administer a former German colony or Ottoman territory on its behalf, with obligations to report to the League and promote local welfare.
- Study planMap the full O-Level History syllabus into a dated topic checklist covering Cameroon, African, and world themes.
- Common mistakesCandidates revise by memorising sequences of dates and events and reproduce them under exam pressure; the command word is skimmed and treated as 'tell me about', and many have never been taught to convert a command word into a thesis and supporting points.
- Exam-day guideBring the candidate statement of entry or registration slip issued to you for the GCE session.