SECTION 1: Trade across the Sahara Desert

Question 1: Multiple choice – circle/ highlight only the correct answer. (8)

1. Timbuktu is situated in ... 2. Traders from Timbuktu crossed the

a) North West Africa ✓ to get to Europe.
b) North East Africa a) Black Sea
c) South East Africa b) Red Sea
d) South West Africa c) Mediterranean Sea ✓
d) Indian Ocean
3. The Desert is north of 4. was the ruler of the kingdom of
Timbuktu. Mali.
a) Kalahari a) Leo Africanus
b) Namib b) King George
c) Sahara ✓ c) Mansa Musa ✓
d) Mali d) Mahmud Kati
5. Timbuktu is the main city in the Kingdom 6. The king was a follower of .
of ... a) Christianity
a) Egypt b) Islam ✓
b) Morocco c) Hinduism
c) Europe d) Judaism
d) Mali ✓
7. The ocean nearest to Timbuktu is the ... 8. Timbuktu became a World Heritage site
a) Atlantic Ocean ✓ because…
b) Indian Ocean a) the city needs to be protected from
c) Pacific Ocean rebels.
d) Mediterranean Sea b) it is a well-known educational centre. ✓
c) lots of ancient pottery was found there.
d) It is a very wealthy city.

Question 2: Critical response

a) The King of Mali was also known as the ‘Lion of Mali’. Explain in your own words why he
didn’t mind being called a lion. Use three characteristics to motivate your answer. (3)
Mansa Musa had all the characteristics of a lion. Mansa Musa was royalty, because he was the

king of Mali✓. He was a brave leader✓ who always protected his people and he was also strong

enough to make all the decisions✓.

b) Explain how the King of Mali managed to control the gold trade. You must mention at least
two facts. (2)
Mansa Musa controlled the gold trade by only allowing his people to trade the gold dust. ✓ The

gold nuggets were very valuable, and he preferred to keep it in Mali. ✓

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Question 3: Read the following sentences and state whether they are True or False. (7)
a) It was safe to travel alone across the Sahara Desert.
False✓, it was not safe to travel alone across the Sahara Desert✓

b) Camels were used to transport goods across the desert.

True✓

c) Camels were also known as the “animals of the desert”.

False✓, Camels were known as “ships of the desert”. ✓

d) Criminals and war prisoners were often sold as slaves.

True✓

e) Leo Africanus was also a successful writer and explorer.

True✓

Question 4: Sources
Study the two sources below and complete the question.
Source A Source B

‘Perhaps in the future there will be some The Timbuktu Manuscripts are written in African
African history to teach. But at the languages in Arabic script, and in Africanised
present there is none; there is only
versions of the Arabic alphabet. These
history of Europeans in Africa. The rest
manuscripts deal with subjects that include
is darkness, and the darkness is not the
subject of history.’
chemistry, physics, optics, medicine, history,
geography, the traditions of Islam, government
Hugh Trevor-Roper, Rise of Cristian Europe, London: laws and much more.
Thames and Hudson, 1964

The Europeans claim in Source A that African history is all about darkness. Write a paragraph to
criticise their statement. (5)

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Your paragraph should state the following:
1. What do they mean by “darkness” and why did they claim that Africa was the dark continent?
2. Do you agree with their statement?
3. Refer to two facts about Timbuktu which will support your decision

The Europeans meant that Africa was an uneducated continent✓ and they called it the dark

continent simply because they didn’t know anything about Africa. ✓ They are wrong✓, because

the Timbuktu manuscripts prove that Africans were educated, ✓ and that Timbuktu had a

functional educational system. Timbuktu was also a place where traders from all over the world

would meet to trade things. ✓

SECTION 2: Slavery in West Africa and the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade

Question 5: Study the source below and complete the questions.

a) Look at the picture above and state what kind of source it is. (1)
Visual ✓
b) On the picture, identify the people according to the number. (2)
1 Master/ slave owner/ slave trader ✓ (any one)
2 Slave✓

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c) Study the slaves very carefully. Write two facts to support the fact that they didn’t want to be
slaves at all. (2)
We know that the slaves didn’t want to be there, because we can see that they were chained

up. They were chained up to prevent them from running away. ✓ The slaves were also begging

to be released/ begging not to be separated from their families. ✓

Question 6: Writing a paragraph (5)

Use the following images to discuss the events which took place from the time when a slave was
captured to finally being sold in America.

Slave traders often kidnapped people from villages in Africa. The people were then marched to the

coast where they were kept in barracoons.  Here they had to wait until they were loaded onto the

slave ships. These ships then took the people to America where they were taken to market places.

 The slaves were then sold to the highest bidder. 

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Question 7: Interpret written sources
Read the following extract and answer the questions.
“The slaves know as little of their ages as horses know of theirs. The white children knew their
ages. My mother was named Harriet Bailey. My father was a white man.
It was whispered that my master was my father. I do not recollect ever seeing my mother by the
light of day. She was with me in the night. She would lie down with me, and get me to sleep, but
long before I woke up she was gone.
She died when I was about seven years old. I was not allowed to be present during her illness, at
her death, or burial.”
Written by Frederick Douglas, an American Slave.

a) To which animal does the author compare the slaves? (1)

A horse✓
b) Which word tells us that people were afraid of telling him who his father was? (1)
whispered✓
c) Write down two things that made the early life of this slave so unhappy. (2)
He never knew who his father was. ✓ He only saw his mother during the night. ✓

He could not be with his mother when she was ill. He was not allowed to be at his mother’s

funeral. (Any two answers.)

d) Which word would you use to describe the mood of the story? Motivate your answer. (1)
Sad, the boy was treated unfairly, and he never had the opportunity to be with his mother. ✓

(Learner’s own response.)

Question 8: Case Study

Read the following extract about the Amistad Mutiny and answer the questions.

Joseph Cinque and the Amistad Mutiny 1839

There were many other cases of African resisting

violently, even on the slave ships where they
attacked the crews.
The most famous example of such a rebellion is the
Amistad Rebellion. In 1839, after many countries
had passed laws and made treaties to try to stop the
Slave Trade, 53 Africans were taken captive in West
Africa and brought to Cuba. While being transported
along the coast of Cuba in a ship called La Amistad
the captives freed themselves, killed the captain and
the cook and forced the crew to sail the ship back to
their home in West Africa.

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Instead of steering the ship to Africa, the crew tricked the slaves and
sailed up the East Coast of the USA, where the ship was captured by the
US Coast Guard. The mutineers were arrested and held in jail in
Connecticut, a state in which slavery was legal.

The court case that followed was important for slavery, especially to
people who wanted to abolish slavery.

The judge ruled that, rather than being merchandise, the Africans were
victims of kidnapping and had the right t escape their captors in any way
they could. Private and missionary society donations helped the 35 surviving Africans secure their
passage home. In January 1842 they arrived back in Africa.

a) Find a word in the text with the same meaning as: (4x½=2)
refuse to accept Rebellion / Resisting✓

imprisoned Captive✓

scammed Tricked✓

abducting Kidnapping✓

b) Explain what the 53 Africans did on their way to Cuba. (3)

They freed themselves ✓and then killed the captain and the cook. ✓ Then they forced the crew

to sail back to West Africa. ✓

c) Do you agree with the actions of the slaves? Justify their actions by mentioning what would
have happened to them in Cuba. (2)
(Learner’s own response.)
The slaves did the right thing✓ by attacking the crew, because they knew that they would never

be able to return to their country ✓and they would never see their families again. ✓

Question 9: The effect of slavery on the economy

Use the folowing map to describe how each continent was affected by the triangular trade. You
must explain whether the continent was affected in a positive or negative way and you must
explain your answer. (6x½=3)

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 Map of the Triangular Trade

Europe: Europe became very wealthy✓, because they used the raw materials to manufacture better

products. The products were then sent to other parts of the world. ✓

America: America gained a lot of slaves to work on the plantations. ✓ This allowed them to increase

production and their economy grew✓ in a positive way.

Africa: The African continent’s economy was affected negatively✓, because most of the work force

was lost to slavery. ✓

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