African history in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries
What this domain tests
This section examines African state formation, trade, religious change, conquest, resistance and nationalism from about 1800 to the 1960s. The exam expects named examples and causal argument, not a generic “Scramble for Africa” narrative.
Core concepts
- State formation: the Zulu kingdom under Shaka; the Sokoto Caliphate founded by Usman dan Fodio; Ethiopia under Menelik II.
- Trade: legitimate commerce in palm oil and cocoa coexisted with slave trading; firearms changed warfare.
- Partition: the Berlin Conference (1884–85) set rules such as effective occupation; it did not draw most borders.
- Resistance and collaboration: primary resistance was often armed, but later mass nationalism used parties, strikes and petitions; elites sometimes collaborated for local reasons.
Worked example
Why did Ethiopia defeat Italy at Adwa in 1896? Weak answers say “Africans were brave”. Strong answers explain Menelik II’s large army, imported rifles and artillery, Italian overextension, poor intelligence, and the disputed Treaty of Wuchale (1889), whose Italian and Amharic texts differed over Italian protection. Empress Taytu’s role and Ethiopian unity matter. Adwa preserved independence and became a symbol for Pan-Africanists.
Traps
Assuming precolonial Africa was stateless; saying Berlin “partitioned” Africa by itself; treating all resistance as armed; ignoring African initiatives in trade, conversion and diplomacy.