Q 01/05

Which country took its new name from a medieval West African empire when the Gold Coast became independent in 1957?

A) Mali

B) Ghana

C) Benin

D) Togo

Answer · why

B) Ghana

Ghana revived the name Arab traders gave Wagadu, an empire that lay far to the north-west in what is now Mali and Mauritania.

Q 02/05

Which West African republic, settled by freed American slaves, was independent before the Scramble for Africa began?

A) Sierra Leone

B) Gambia

C) Ivory Coast

D) Liberia

Answer · why

D) Liberia

Liberia declared independence in 1847, and only it and Ethiopia were spared when European powers carved up the continent.

Q 03/05

Which 1950s uprising against British rule in Kenya was fought mainly by members of the Kikuyu people?

A) Mau Mau rebellion

B) Maji Maji rebellion

C) Bambatha rebellion

D) Chilembwe uprising

Answer · why

A) Mau Mau rebellion

The Mau Mau rebellion was effectively beaten when British forces captured its field marshal, Dedan Kimathi, in October 1956.

Q 04/05

Which first prime minister of independent Congo was dismissed within months and shot by firing squad in January 1961?

A) Joseph Kasa-Vubu

B) Antoine Gizenga

C) Patrice Lumumba

D) Cyrille Adoula

Answer · why

C) Patrice Lumumba

Patrice Lumumba lasted under three months in office. In 2022 Belgium returned a single gold-capped tooth, all that was left of him, to his family.

Q 05/05

Which Egyptian president nationalised the Suez Canal in 1956, prompting an invasion by Britain, France and Israel?

A) Anwar Sadat

B) Gamal Abdel Nasser

C) Abdel Fattah el-Sisi

D) Mohamed Naguib

Answer · why

B) Gamal Abdel Nasser

Gamal Abdel Nasser announced the takeover in a speech in Alexandria, saying the canal would pay for the Aswan Dam after Western funding was withdrawn.