Unit 10: Paper 3 — History of Africa and the Middle East (HL)
Topic 10.5: European imperialism and the partition of Africa (c.1840–1920) Questions
Practice 20 exam-style questions for IB History (2028) Topic 10.5. Review the question stems below, then unlock the full Question Bank to access markschemes, model answers, and AI grading.
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 10.5.1 - Q1
Which development created a power vacuum in North Africa, allowing local rulers such as Egypt's Muhammad Ali to govern almost independently while borrowing heavily from European banks?
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 10.5.2 - Q7
Evaluate the claim that the Berlin Conference of 1884–1885 was the single most important cause of the rapid and near-total partition of Africa.
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 10.5.1 - Q3
Britain's 1882 occupation of Egypt was triggered directly by a revolt led by which Egyptian nationalist officer against foreign financial control?
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 10.5.1 - Q4
The 1884–85 Berlin Conference established which rule, requiring powers to show actual control or treaties before their claim to African territory would be recognised?
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 10.5.1 - Q5
The discovery of gold in 1886 on which South African goldfield transformed the strategic and economic value of the region for Britain?
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 10.5.2 - Q2
Who chaired the Berlin Conference of 1884–1885, at which European powers agreed rules for the partition of Africa?
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 10.5.2 - Q1
Which battle in 1896 saw Emperor Menelik II's forces defeat an Italian invasion force, preserving Ethiopian independence?
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 10.5.2 - Q3
Which principle, agreed at the Berlin Conference, stated that a European power could only claim African territory it actually controlled and administered on the ground?
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 10.5.2 - Q4
Which chartered company collected numerous treaties from local rulers in the Niger Delta region, later used by Britain as legal proof of its claim to Nigeria?
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 10.5.2 - Q5
Which event in 1898 saw French forces confront British forces in Sudan, with France ultimately backing down rather than risk war?
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 10.5.3 - Q2
Choose the rebellion in German East Africa (1905–1907) in which fighters believed magic water (maji) would turn German bullets to water, and which was crushed by a scorched-earth famine campaign killing an estimated 250,000–300,000 people.
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 10.5.3 - Q1
Choose the African leader who defeated an invading Italian army at the Battle of Adwa in 1896, preserving Ethiopian independence.
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 10.5.3 - Q3
Choose the ruler who travelled to Britain in 1895 to negotiate directly, securing greater self-government for Bechuanaland (modern Botswana) than most colonised territories achieved.
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 10.5.3 - Q4
Choose the ruler who cooperated with British merchants in the Niger Delta to control the palm oil trade, but was exiled by Britain in 1887 once his independence became inconvenient.
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 10.5.3 - Q5
Choose the resistance leader who fought the French in West Africa for sixteen years (1882–1898) using guerrilla tactics, a scorched-earth retreat strategy, and a domestic arms industry, before being captured and exiled.
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 10.5.1 - Q2
In 1875, Britain bought a large shareholding in the company that ran which waterway, making Egypt's stability a vital British strategic interest?
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 10.5.1 - Q10
To what extent do you agree that South Africa's importance to Britain before 1900 was primarily strategic rather than economic?
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 10.5.1 - Q8
Discuss the view that Britain's occupation of Egypt in 1882 was primarily an act of strategic necessity rather than economic self-interest.
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 10.5.1 - Q6
To what extent do you agree with the claim that technological change, rather than human decisions, was the main reason Europeans were able to penetrate and control Africa's interior between c.1840 and 1900?
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 10.5.2 - Q9
To what extent do you agree with the claim that rivalry between European powers, rather than African weakness, determined the specific shape of the partitioned map of Africa?
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