Scramble for Africa and partition borders

What you’ll explore

Follow the Scramble for Africa through the decisions, deals, and rivalries that carved up the continent. You’ll connect conferences and treaties to specific colonies, border shapes, and modern country outcomes.

Each question has 4 options and there’s no timer, so you can focus on careful map-and-history reasoning rather than speed.

Skills you’ll practice

• Matching colonial powers to territories and protectorates
• Identifying key events like the Berlin Conference and major crises
• Linking treaties, spheres of influence, and boundary commissions to border changes
• Distinguishing similar place names, regions, and colonial-era labels
• Interpreting cause-and-effect: resources, strategy, resistance, and administration

Common pitfalls (and how to avoid them)

Many players mix up neighboring colonies with similar administrative terms (colony vs protectorate vs mandate) or assume modern borders always reflect ethnic or geographic lines. Another frequent trap is confusing who controlled an area at a specific date—especially where power shifted through war, treaties, or international agreements.

Difficulty and settings

Difficulty is balanced by mixing straightforward recall (key figures, dates, capitals) with tougher items that require comparing regions or tracking changes over time. You can choose your question count and difficulty before starting, making it easy to run a quick practice set or a longer, more comprehensive session.