New Curriculum Third Term Nigerian History examination for SS 1

Class: SS 1
Term: Third Term
Subject: Nigerian History
Time: 2 hours
Total Marks: 70

SECTION A: OBJECTIVES (40 Marks)
Instruction: Answer all 40 questions. Each question carries 1 mark.
Historical evidence note: In questions about trans-Atlantic enslavement, distinguish coerced human trafficking from voluntary trade. Descriptions of commercial networks do not justify or minimise the harm experienced by enslaved people.

1. A historian describes abolition as one sudden event worldwide. Why is that inadequate? (a) all countries prohibited the trade on the same date    (b) legal changes and enforcement unfolded in different places and periods    (c) the trade had no effect on African societies    (d) no resistance existed before legislation
2. What distinguishes the Atlantic slave trade from ordinary voluntary exchange? (a) equal bargaining rights for all persons transported    (b) the absence of violence in labour recruitment    (c) free choice over long-term labour contracts    (d) the coercive commodification and forced transport of human beings
3. Which item would NOT normally support an interpretation of historical caravan commerce? (a) records of regional market taxes    (b) an unrelated court succession list without data on merchants or routes    (c) description of caravan routes and stopping places    (d) accounts of traded salt and gold
4. The correct first step when accounts disagree about the decline of caravan trade is to ________. (a) discard all data about maritime competition    (b) assume the longer account is more accurate    (c) check their dates, authors and geographical focus    (d) reconcile contradictions by inventing new events
5. Why should the decline of Zazzau be examined through multiple causes? (a) trade can have no influence on political power    (b) political, military and commercial developments may interact    (c) all kingdoms collapse through one identical event    (d) oral evidence is never relevant to change
6. Which historical claim requires further corroboration? (a) trading routes linked communities    (b) political institutions influenced exchange    (c) specialised craft production existed in regional centres    (d) every Zazzau ruler achieved identical commercial success
7. A trader describes routes connecting Zazzau and neighbouring centres. What historical issue could this account illuminate? (a) exclusively Atlantic maritime exchange    (b) the claim that Zazzau had no external contacts    (c) regional exchange and the kingdom’s geographic position    (d) the geography of the Oyo forest hinterland
8. How should a comparison of Atlantic and Saharan exchanges avoid false equivalence? (a) assume every caravan carried identical cargo    (b) identify differences in goods, coercion, routes and historical contexts    (c) ignore the experiences of affected populations    (d) treat all types of movement as voluntary
9. What does the existence of titled offices suggest about political coordination in Zazzau? (a) required mechanisms for coordinating and enforcing decisions    (b) could never experience succession disputes    (c) was simply an informal gathering without political hierarchy    (d) had no relations with other communities
10. A historian calls the Atlantic slave trade a network of global exchange. What must this description not conceal? (a) the movement of profits and manufactured goods    (b) the influence of commercial demand on transport    (c) its grave violence and denial of human freedom    (d) the participation of connected Atlantic markets
11. Which source is most directly useful for reconstructing the mechanisms of the Atlantic slave trade? (a) an isolated political speech lacking transport details    (b) a modern merchant account of voluntary travel    (c) a royal legend about an unrelated inland kingdom    (d) shipping records examined alongside testimony and other evidence
12. Rival routes draw merchants away from a kingdom. What consequence could weakened trade revenue have? (a) an automatic doubling of tax collections    (b) guaranteed stability of every alliance    (c) reduced resources for maintaining authority and defence    (d) permanent removal of all political rivals
13. A report counts Atlantic trade profits but excludes enslaved people’s experiences. What is its analytical failure? (a) attempting to describe an international economic network    (b) using historical evidence from more than one source    (c) considering the role of goods and shipping    (d) reducing human suffering to a commercial balance sheet
14. All these are relevant to analysing a kingdom’s rise EXCEPT ________. (a) a ceremonial praise title with no evidence of routes, governance or alliances    (b) political alliances    (c) effective administration    (d) strategic routes
15. All the following are plausible results of long-distance exchange EXCEPT ________. (a) circulation of religious and cultural influences    (b) development of specialised market centres    (c) movement of goods between regions    (d) complete isolation of connected trading communities
16. Why should a Zazzau royal genealogy be checked against other kinds of historical evidence? (a) it always provides a verified calendar date    (b) it proves every inhabitant held the same office    (c) it may privilege succession claims and elite perspectives    (d) it cannot convey any political information
17. A caravan route shrinks in importance. Which conclusion about regional commerce would be unwarranted? (a) some merchants sought alternative routes    (b) every form of trade and cultural contact immediately ceased    (c) route security affected transport decisions    (d) exchange patterns could change over time
18. Which source would best place Zazzau’s early settlements in their regional setting? (a) historical maps combined with archaeological and oral evidence    (b) a caravan report from a different region lacking settlement detail    (c) a royal account without a geographical reference    (d) a modern state map used without any earlier evidence
19. The main reason intermediary towns mattered to trans-Saharan trade is that ________. (a) they provided markets, services and links between longer routes    (b) every trade route bypassed settled populations    (c) they eliminated the need for caravan planning    (d) they prevented cultural and religious contact
20. What can craft specialisation reveal about historical settlement and exchange? (a) a society without social institutions    (b) the end of trade between settlements    (c) the lack of any production methods    (d) skills, exchange networks and occupational organisation
21. Abolition campaigns involved moral arguments and other motives. What explanation best reflects this diversity? (a) a single identical motive among every supporter    (b) the absence of resistance by enslaved people    (c) overlapping moral, political and economic pressures    (d) no debate about the legality of the trade
22. What would most strengthen the argument that insecurity contributed to declining caravan traffic? (a) comparable records of route attacks and falling merchant journeys    (b) caravan records from a peaceful period on a different route    (c) an undated story about merchants disliking taxes    (d) a ruler’s speech that praises commercial prosperity without evidence
23. How should Zazzau’s achievements be compared with those of Benin and Oyo? (a) compare only the length of each list of royal successors    (b) make final rankings without specifying criteria    (c) specify the criteria and compare relevant contemporary evidence    (d) treat evidence from separate centuries as simultaneous
24. A market town initially prospers but loses income when trading routes shift. What historical relationship is illustrated? (a) how trade networks can create both opportunity and vulnerability    (b) why market connections always guarantee permanent growth    (c) the absence of any relationship between trade and settlement    (d) that geography can never affect local livelihoods
25. Why were intermediary towns important to trans-Saharan trade? (a) they eliminated the need for caravan planning    (b) they provided markets, services and connections between routes    (c) all routes bypassed settled populations    (d) they prevented cultural and religious contact
26. An account lists Zazzau rulers and titled officers. What aspect of the kingdom does it primarily illuminate? (a) the trade goods of foreign caravans alone    (b) socio-political structure    (c) the material composition of palace buildings alone    (d) the kingdom’s geographical location without its institutions
27. Caravans moved goods and ideas between distant regions. Why can this be considered early economic globalisation? (a) it linked production, markets and knowledge across large distances    (b) the presence of a single currency across every caravan market    (c) the permanent abolition of tariffs at all stopping places    (d) the complete disappearance of local production and exchange
28. Which of the following places is most closely connected to the historical Zazzau Kingdom? (a) Benin City in present-day Edo State    (b) the central capital of the old Oyo Empire    (c) the island settlements of the Niger delta    (d) Zaria in present-day Kaduna State
29. Which action is most appropriate when someone suspects a recruitment scheme is trafficking people? (a) send the recruiter more personal documents without checks    (b) confront an organised criminal group alone    (c) seek help through trusted protection and law-enforcement channels    (d) keep all evidence secret from protective services
30. What historical system forced enslaved Africans across the Atlantic for commercial exploitation? (a) trans-Atlantic slave trade    (b) the movement of hired soldiers across inland states    (c) coastal exchange of manufactured goods without forced labour    (d) trans-Saharan transport of ordinary merchandise
31. A museum displays Zazzau craft work, evidence of regional commerce and titles of officials. What larger historical theme does the collection illustrate? (a) the absence of specialised economic activity    (b) proof that local governance never changed    (c) an exclusively modern political development    (d) multiple dimensions of the kingdom’s achievements
32. A caravan exchanges desert salt for products from more southerly communities. Which exchange system is illustrated? (a) long-distance trans-Saharan exchange    (b) a trade arrangement limited to one local ruler’s court    (c) exchange confined to neighbouring village markets    (d) a sea-borne exchange network linking Atlantic ports
33. What fundamental historical feature connects trans-Atlantic enslavement with contemporary human trafficking? (a) the absence of commercial motives in both    (b) coercive exploitation that denies people meaningful freedom    (c) the identical legal framework across all periods    (d) the use of the same transportation technology
34. ________ was the kingdom historically linked to the city later called Zaria. (a) Oyo    (b) Benin    (c) Kanem    (d) Zazzau
35. A historian explains Zazzau’s rise solely through one heroic ruler. What limitation does this create? (a) attempting to explain long-term change    (b) insufficient attention to institutions, geography and wider conditions    (c) using a named actor in a historical argument    (d) any consideration of individual leadership
36. All of these can form part of modern human trafficking EXCEPT ________. (a) debt bondage enforced through coercion    (b) freely chosen employment under genuine informed consent    (c) fraudulent recruitment followed by passport confiscation    (d) forced labour maintained through threats
37. The ________ trade connected communities north and south of the Sahara through overland routes. (a) intra-European coastal    (b) Indian Ocean steamship    (c) Trans-Saharan    (d) Trans-Atlantic shipping
38. Recruiters retain applicants’ passports and threaten them after travel. What danger does this indicate? (a) lawful travel after informed consent    (b) ordinary voluntary job placement with free exit    (c) a transparent labour contract independently reviewed    (d) coercive control and possible human trafficking
39. When studying central and subordinate settlements in Zazzau, what should a historian look for? (a) whether every society used identical royal titles    (b) the assumption that every political decision was made in Europe    (c) how power, tribute and obligations were organised    (d) only the number of trees around the palace
40. What is the strongest basis for arguing that trans-Saharan trade affected Nigerian economies? (a) evidence linking trading routes with markets, jobs and political revenue    (b) a regional map without dates or evidence of commerce    (c) a late court legend with no reference to markets    (d) an isolated biography that gives no trade connections

SECTION B: THEORY (30 Marks)
Instruction: Answer Question 1 and any other TWO questions. Each question carries 10 marks.

Question 1: Zazzau and historical evidence (10 Marks)
(a) Describe the geographical location of Zazzau and two aspects of its socio-political structure. (6 marks)
(b) Explain two ways a historian would test a royal genealogy against alternative evidence. (4 marks)

Question 2: The Trans-Saharan exchange system (10 Marks)
(a) Explain three reasons caravan routes and intermediary towns supported trade between the Sahara and West African communities. (6 marks)
(b) A merchant town declines after sea-based exchange expands. Distinguish one commercial and one security explanation for falling caravan traffic. (4 marks)

Question 3: Trade networks and economic globalisation (10 Marks)
(a) Using trans-Saharan trade, explain how connections across distant regions could change local economies and political authority. (6 marks)
(b) Why should a historian avoid describing all trade-linked towns as equally prosperous? (4 marks)

Question 4: Trans-Atlantic slave trade and present-day exploitation (10 Marks)
(a) Analyse two major differences between the trans-Atlantic slave trade and ordinary voluntary commercial migration. (4 marks)
(b) Explain one abolition-related pressure and two signs of contemporary human trafficking, stating an appropriate protective response. (6 marks)

Objective Marking Scheme
Question 1 – ✅ (b) legal changes and enforcement unfolded in different places and periods
Question 2 – ✅ (d) the coercive commodification and forced transport of human beings
Question 3 – ✅ (b) an unrelated court succession list without data on merchants or routes
Question 4 – ✅ (c) check their dates, authors and geographical focus
Question 5 – ✅ (b) political, military and commercial developments may interact
Question 6 – ✅ (d) every Zazzau ruler achieved identical commercial success
Question 7 – ✅ (c) regional exchange and the kingdom’s geographic position
Question 8 – ✅ (b) identify differences in goods, coercion, routes and historical contexts
Question 9 – ✅ (a) required mechanisms for coordinating and enforcing decisions
Question 10 – ✅ (c) its grave violence and denial of human freedom
Question 11 – ✅ (d) shipping records examined alongside testimony and other evidence
Question 12 – ✅ (c) reduced resources for maintaining authority and defence
Question 13 – ✅ (d) reducing human suffering to a commercial balance sheet
Question 14 – ✅ (a) a ceremonial praise title with no evidence of routes, governance or alliances
Question 15 – ✅ (d) complete isolation of connected trading communities
Question 16 – ✅ (c) it may privilege succession claims and elite perspectives
Question 17 – ✅ (b) every form of trade and cultural contact immediately ceased
Question 18 – ✅ (a) historical maps combined with archaeological and oral evidence
Question 19 – ✅ (a) they provided markets, services and links between longer routes
Question 20 – ✅ (d) skills, exchange networks and occupational organisation
Question 21 – ✅ (c) overlapping moral, political and economic pressures
Question 22 – ✅ (a) comparable records of route attacks and falling merchant journeys
Question 23 – ✅ (c) specify the criteria and compare relevant contemporary evidence
Question 24 – ✅ (a) how trade networks can create both opportunity and vulnerability
Question 25 – ✅ (b) they provided markets, services and connections between routes
Question 26 – ✅ (b) socio-political structure
Question 27 – ✅ (a) it linked production, markets and knowledge across large distances
Question 28 – ✅ (d) Zaria in present-day Kaduna State
Question 29 – ✅ (c) seek help through trusted protection and law-enforcement channels
Question 30 – ✅ (a) trans-Atlantic slave trade
Question 31 – ✅ (d) multiple dimensions of the kingdom’s achievements
Question 32 – ✅ (a) long-distance trans-Saharan exchange
Question 33 – ✅ (b) coercive exploitation that denies people meaningful freedom
Question 34 – ✅ (d) Zazzau
Question 35 – ✅ (b) insufficient attention to institutions, geography and wider conditions
Question 36 – ✅ (b) freely chosen employment under genuine informed consent
Question 37 – ✅ (c) Trans-Saharan
Question 38 – ✅ (d) coercive control and possible human trafficking
Question 39 – ✅ (c) how power, tribute and obligations were organised
Question 40 – ✅ (a) evidence linking trading routes with markets, jobs and political revenue

Theory Marking Scheme

Question 1 — Zazzau and historical evidence
(a) Zaria/Kaduna northern Nigeria (2), ruling institutions/titled officials/relations with dependent settlements two at 2 each. [6 marks]
(b) Cross-check oral accounts/maps/archaeology/dated records (2), identify political bias/dates and provenance (2). [4 marks]

Question 2 — The Trans-Saharan exchange system
(a) Market links, water/supplies/security, movement of goods, cultural/religious contact; any three explained at 2. [6 marks]
(b) Alternative maritime routes reduced trade demand (2); attacks/insecurity increased risks and costs (2). [4 marks]

Question 3 — Trade networks and economic globalisation
(a) Three links at 2 marks: specialisation/markets, taxes/state revenue, town growth, ideas/institutions, vulnerability to route shifts. [6 marks]
(b) Unequal gains by roles, location, bargaining or power (2); changing routes/security affecting outcomes (2). [4 marks]

Question 4 — Trans-Atlantic slave trade and present-day exploitation
(a) Forced human commodification (2), lack of consent/violent coercion and loss of freedom (2). [4 marks]
(b) Moral/political/economic abolition pressure (2); two signs confiscation, threats, forced labour/debt bondage (1 each); safe report/seek trusted protection (2). [6 marks]