HS1040 SURVEY OF AFRICAN HISTORY QUESTIONS 2012

1. “Without the 1882 British occupation of Egypt, Africa would not have not been colonized.” Discuss.

2. Identify any two prominent African leaders who were active in resisting colonialism and show how
successful they were in their endeavours.

3. How best can you explain the scramble and actual partition of Africa?

4. “African resistance to colonization was primitive and retrogressive.” Discuss.

5. Is the name the First Chimurenga an apt description of this event in Zimbabwean history?

6. To what extent do you agree with the assertion that Africans lacked agency in their resistance to
colonialism?

7. The discovery of gold and diamonds in South Africa was a blessing for the Southern African
region?

8. Cheap migrant labour sustained the mining and agricultural industries of Southern Africa.
Discuss?

9. Labour migrants faced serious hardships during their migration to Southern Rhodesia and South
Africa. Discusss

10. “African natural resources are a curse to the continent.” Discuss.

11. What have been the causes of political instability in post-colonial Africa?

12. “The discovery of gold and diamonds in South Africa was a blessing in disguise for Africans in
Southern Africa.” What do you think?

13. “The Angolan Civil War was rooted in diamonds and oil.” Discuss.
14. “The Butcher of Congo.” Is this an apt description of King Leopold II and his activities in the Belgian
Congo?

15. How significant are the late 1950s and the 1960s in the decolonization of Africa?

16. Why did states such as Kenya and Southern Rhodesia get their independence late?

17. What was the place of the Second World War in the decolonization of Africa?

18. Why are diamonds bloody? Answers in relation to the experiences of Africa.

19. To what extent do agree to the claim that decolonization in Africa was planned and given by the
colonizers?

20. What was the impact of the Second World War in the decolonization of the African continent?

21. To what extent should we blame post colonial governments and leaders in the crises facing the
continent today?

22. What was the impact of the mineral revolution in Southern Africa?

23. What is state collapse? Answer in relation to African experiences in the post-colonial period.

24. William Zartman argues that African states are collapsing or decaying. What do you think?

25. Is oil Africa’s black gold?

26. How far do you agree with the statement that contemporary African crisis is a result of colonial
legacy?

27. “The benefits that Africans accrued through the mineral revolution were by accident and not by
design.” Discuss
28. What has been the role of ethnicity in post-colonial African conflicts?

29. What was the role of the church in the Rwandan genocide?

30. “The Rwandan genocide was a result of colonial legacy”. Discuss

31. “Sex has become a major weapon in post-independent African conflicts.” Respond in relation to the
experiences of women in African civil wars

32. Was Jonas Savimbi the main protagonist in the Angolan Civil war?

33. Who are the Boko Haram?

34. Why has Nigeria failed to deal with the Boko Haram?

35. What were the causes of the Biafran Civil War?

36. What was the role of the French in the Rwandan genocide?

37. Discuss the Darfur crisis?

38. The Liberian civil war epitomized what is wrong with post-colonial Africa discusss?

39. What were the causes of the Sierra Leone civil war?

40. Is the monarch system in Swaziland out of date?

41. Discuss the debates over female circumcision in Africa?

42. Has the link between male circumcision and HIV/AIDS been good for this African cultural rite?

43. Is globalization a new form of colonialism in Africa?

44. Why has Africa become a Chinese territory?

45. What were the causes of the Arab Spring?

46. What was the impact of the Arab Spring in Africa?

47. What lessons can sub-Saharan Africa draw from the Arab Spring?

48. South African xenophobic violence is testimony to the legacy of apartheid in South Africa. Discuss

49. What have been the causes of xenophobic violence in South Africa?

50. Is Africa the cradle of diseases?