Consolidation and Expansion in Africa 1890-1914

Question 1

What is a condominium?

Answer 1

A state where there is joint control over affairs by other states, e.g. Sudan was a condominium of Britain and Egypt from 1899.

Question 2

Who were the Asante/Ashanti (2)?

Answer 2

1) An ethnic group, who once held a large empire along the Gulf of Guinea.
2) They fought five wars against Britain in the years 1823-1900, and strongly resisted European attempts to conquer them.

Question 3

What 2 West African colonies did Britain add to her Empire in the years 1890-1914?

Answer 3

1) Ashantiland (1901).
2) Nigeria (1914), joining together the Northern and Southern Nigerian protectorates.

Question 4

How did Britain annex Ashantiland (4)?

Answer 4

1) Britain demanded the Asante King, Prempeh, to turn the remainder of his Empire to Britain as a protectorate.
2) Prempeh refused, triggering a fourth Anglo-Asante War, ending in a British victory and a removal of Prempeh from the throne in 1896.
3) A final Asante uprising in 1900 led to the formal annexation of Ashantiland in 1901.
4) Ashantiland was incorporated into the Gold Coast Colony in 1902.

Question 5

When was Ashantiland annexed into the Gold Coast Colony?

Answer 5

1902.

Question 6

How did Britain gain control of Nigeria (4) 1885-1914?

Answer 6

1) Britain was able to claim Nigeria through ‘effective occupation’, due to the Royal Niger Company’s presence, in 1885.
2) An agreement with the French in 1890, recognised the French claim to Madagascar, in exchange for French recognition of British Nigeria.
3) The British government took over the responsibilities of the Royal Niger Company, establishing direct British control in the North in 1900, and the South in 1906.
4) Nigeria was unified in 1914.

Question 7

When was Nigeria unified?

Answer 7

1914.

Question 8

When did Britain establish direct control of (1) northern Nigeria, and (2), southern Nigeria?

Answer 8

1) North: 1900.
2) South: 1906.

Question 9

What 3 East African territories did Britain add to her Empire 1890-1914?

Answer 9

1) Zanzibar (1890).
2) Uganda (1894).
3) Sudan (1899).

Question 10

How did Britain gain control of Zanzibar (5)?

Answer 10

1) In 1890, Britain and Germany signed a treaty establishing spheres of influence in East Africa. Zanzibar was ceded to Britain.
2) Britain declared Zanzibar a protectorate in 1890, installing their own puppet Sultan, Sultan Hamad.
3) After Hamad’s mysterious death in 1896, and the ascension of his cousin, Khalid, without British consent, Britain ordered Khalid to stand down.
4) Khalid refused to stand down, resulting in a British naval bombardment of the palace, with around 500 killed. This was the shortest war in history, lasting 38 minutes.
5) Khalid was overthrown, and Sultan Hamud was instated.

Question 11

What is Buganda?

Answer 11

A state within Uganda, established by the Bugandan peoples.

Question 12

How did Britain gain control of Uganda (5)?

Answer 12

1) In the 19th century, missionaries had converted many Bugandans to Christianity. In an attempt to assert his authority, King Mwanga executed 30 Catholics and Protestants (1885-87).
2) This started a civil war, and Mwanga fled.
3) Mwanga promised to hand over some sovereignty to the Imperial British East Africa Company, in exchange for British backing. He was restored to power in 1889.
4) Mwanga signed a treaty with Lord Lugard, ceding powers over revenue, trade, and the administration of justice to the IBEAC.
5) These powers were transferred to the Crown in 1894, and Buganda became a protectorate, as a part of Uganda.

Question 13

When did Uganda become a British protectorate?

Answer 13

1894.

Question 14

When and why did Britain construct the Uganda Railway, and where did it run from and to?

Answer 14

1) Constructed 1896-1901.
2) It started from Mombasa, running to the highlands near Lake Victoria.
3) This consolidated British control over the East Africa Protectorate and Uganda, linking the colonies with one another, as well as with the Indian Ocean.

Question 15

How long was the Uganda Railway?

Answer 15

660 miles.

Question 16

What were the 3 main costs of the Uganda Railway?

Answer 16

1) It took 5 years to build.
2) It cost around £5 million.
3) It cost the live of around 2500 labourers.

Question 17

What were the 7 benefits of the Uganda Railway to the British?

Answer 17

1) Enabled access to new markets.
2) Encouraged colonial settlement.
3) Facilitated the exports of tea and coffee.
4) Protected the source of the Nile from potential enemies.
5) Promoted British tourism, especially safari tours.
6) Helped to end the Arab-run East African slave trade.
7) Consolidated control in East Africa.

Question 18

What was the Tsavo incident?

Answer 18

When between 35-100 rail workers were attacked and eaten by 2 lions whilst working on the Uganda Railway.

Question 19

Why was Britain interested in Kenya?

Answer 19

It offered a route from the coast to Uganda. This interest can be dated back to the Berlin Conference of 1884-85, where it was partitioned into Britain’s sphere of influence.

Question 20

How did Britain gain control of Kenya (3)?

Answer 20

1) Britain used the dispute between the indigenous Mazrui and the Muslims to force their control, wanting to safeguard trade in Uganda and Zanzibar, after the bankruptcy of the IBEAC.
2) Sheikh Mbaruk took up arms against Britain, supplied by Germany. Britain was victorious after 9 months.
3) Sheikh Mbaruk fled, and Kenya became a part of Britain’s East Africa Protectorate of 1895, with Kenya officially becoming a colony in 1920.

Question 21

When did Kenya officially become a British Colony?

Answer 21

1920.

Question 22

When did Salisbury first become Prime Minister, and for what political party?

Answer 22

1885, for the Conservative Party.

Question 23

Who was Khalifa Abdullah (2)?

Answer 23

1) Regarded as the Khalifa, he succeeding the Mahdi after his death in 1885.
2) Khalifa tried to unite the Sudanese people, however internal resistance, disease and famine prevented this.

Question 24

Why was Salisbury concerned with Sudan after 1885 (2)?

Answer 24

1) He wanted to consolidate British control over the Suez Canal in Egypt.
2) He feared the expansion of European powers in Africa, especially the French and German inland expansion in East Africa, fearing for the headwaters of the Nile, which were essential for Egyptian welfare.

Question 25

What agreement did Salisbury reach with the Germans in 1890?

Answer 25

It agreed for the Germans to take Tanganyika, whilst Britain took Kenya and Uganda.

Question 26

What was Salisbury’s excuse for a British campaign in Sudan?

Answer 26

Italian expansion in Massawa was diverting the Khalifa’s attention from Egypt. The Italian defeat at the hands of Ethiopian resistance at Adowa in 1896 lost this diversionary help, resulting in Salisbury ordering the Sudan campaign in 1896, welcomed by the British public after General Gordan’s death.

Question 27

What is the Maxim gun?

Answer 27

One of the earliest machine guns, created in 1884 by Hiram Maxim.

Question 28

Who led the Sudan campaign?

Answer 28

General Sir Herbert Kitchener, Commander-in-Chief of the Egyptian Army.

Question 29

What (2) and when was the Battle of Omdurman?

Answer 29

1) Having been ordered to only penetrate Sudan as far as Dongola, Kitchener was determined to take the whole region.
2) Equipped with modern weaponry, like the Maxim gun, Britain won a decisive victory at the Battle of Omdurman in 1898, reconquering Sudan.

Question 30

What were Salisbury’s orders to Kitchener after the Battle of Omdurman?

Answer 30

To go to Fashoda on the headwaters of the Nile, where a French expedition had arrived.

Question 31

What was the ‘Fashoda incident’ (2), and how was it resolved (1898)?

Answer 31

1) Both Kitchener (Britain) and Marchand (France) laid claim to the headwaters of the Nile, accusing the other of trespassing.
2) This encounter was not aggressive. The British press, however, reported that Britain and France were close to war.
3) The French Government, facing internal issues, agreed to withdraw from the Nile Valley, in exchange for territory further west.

Question 32

When was Anglo-Egyptian Sudan established, and how would it be ruled?

Answer 32

Anglo-Egyptian Sudan was established in 1899, whereby it would be a condominium. Sudan would be run by the British, with Egyptian support.

Question 33

Who was the first Governor-General of Sudan?

Answer 33

Lord Kitchener.

Question 34

When, how and why (2) did Britain secure control over Somaliland?

Answer 34

1) Having established the protectorate of Somaliland in 1888, Britain reinforced it with administrative and military personnel in 1898.
2) This limited French and Italian ambitions in the area, and secured access to the Indian Ocean, and Britain’s Eastern colonies, like India.

Question 35

What 2 South African territories did Britain gain 1890-1914, and when?

Answer 35

1) Rhodesia (initially acquired in 1895), protectorates were established in Southern Rhodesia in 1901, and Northern Rhodesia in 1911, under BSAC rule
2) Nyasaland (initially under BSAC from 1891) became a protectorate in 1907.

Question 36

How did Britain gain control of Rhodesia (4)?

Answer 36

1) The discovery of gold in South Zambesia led to Rhodes’ BSAC obtaining mining concessions, followed by white settlers with permission from the British government to establish a protectorate.
2) The Ndebele people resisted in the First Ndebele (Matabele) War (1893-94), but their 80,000 men were easily defeated by the BSAC army, and their Maxim guns.
3) Rhodes named the area after himself (Southern Rhodesia) in an attempt to assert authority.
4) A Second Ndebele War took place in 1895-96, which again was unsuccessful.

Question 37

How did Britain gain control of Nyasaland (3)?

Answer 37

1) Nyasaland had been opened up by Livingstone, and settled by Scottish missionaries.
2) Britain established control in 1891, despite Portuguese-backed Arab attacks. It operated under the BSAC, which faced indigenous resistance in the area.
3) It became a protectorate in 1907.

Question 38

What is an Afrikaner?

Answer 38

A term that replaces the use of ‘Boer’, referring to an Afrikaans-speaking person in South Africa, descending from the Dutch settlers there.

Question 39

Who were the 2 main advocates for a British confederation of South Africa, and why did they want to do so?

Answer 39

They wanted to counter German territorial gains and Boer confidence derived from the gold wealth of the Transvaal.
1) Cecil Rhodes (Cape Prime Minister).
2) Joseph Chamberlain (Colonial Secretary 1895-1903).

Question 40

What was the main trigger for the Jameson Raid?

Answer 40

In 1895, the Uitlanders who had come to the Transvaal during the gold rush, were denied citizenship and voting rights by the Boer government. The Uitlanders looked to Rhodes for help.

Question 41

What was the Jameson Raid (1895)?

Answer 41

Rhodes instructed Jameson, his agent in Rhodesia, to invade the Transvaal, with only 500 men in an attempt to trigger a Uitlander uprising. It failed and was easily defeated.

Question 42

What were the consequences of the Jameson Raid (5)?

Answer 42

1) It discredited the British government, although the government did not support it.
2) Kruger became a people’s hero.
3) Boers in the Cape Colony formed an anti-British ‘Afrikaner bond’, showing solidarity with the Transvaal Boers.
4) The Boers became even more determined to resist British rule.
5) Rhodes was forced to resign as Prime Minister of the Cape.

Question 43

When and why did the Second Anglo-Boer War start?

Answer 43

Chamberlain wanted to avoid war with the Boers, but was not prepared to weaken British influence. Negotiations broke down in 1899, when the Boers invaded British territory, besieging Ladysmith in Natal, before the British South African Army could be reinforced.

Question 44

In what years did the Second Anglo-Boer War take place?

Answer 44

1899-1902.

Question 45

What were the 2 costs of the Second Anglo-Boer War to Britain?

Answer 45

1) It cost Britain £250 million.
2) Britain sent 400,000 troops from around Empire.

Question 46

What were the 2 costs of the Second Anglo-Boer War to the Boers?

Answer 46

1) Britain’s ‘scorched earth’ policy burned farms, decimating supplies of food and shelter for soldiers and civilians.
2) Afrikaner women, children, and thousands of black men were put into concentration camps, with 1000s dying of disease and starvation.

Question 47

What was the result of the Second Anglo-Boer War?

Answer 47

A British victory in 1902.

Question 48

What was the Peace of Vereeniging of May 1902 (2)?

Answer 48

1) It ended the Second Anglo-Boer War in May 1902, with the Boers acknowledging themselves as British subjects.
2) The Boer republics became British colonies, with the promise of responsible self-government (eventually granted in 1905).

Question 49

When did the Union of South Africa become a Dominion?

Answer 49

1910.

Question 50

What colonies made up the Union of South Africa (4)?

Answer 50

1) The Transvaal.
2) The Orange Free State.
3) Cape Colony.
4) Natal.