Key to the European conquest of Africa was

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The prompt asks us to identify what was the key to the European conquest of Africa among the given options.
Option 1: 'Slavery' — While the transatlantic slave trade and coerced labor played a dark role in European history, it is not a technological or strategic tool that directly enabled conquest on the battlefield in the sense implied by this question. It reflects a broader historical wrongdoing, not a military advantage in the late 19th century.
Option 2: 'The telegraph' — The telegraph improved long-distance communication and coordination, which did aid imperial administrations and planning. However, on its own it does not constitute the pivotal instrument that allowed rapid conquest and sustained military campaigns across vast, uncolonized interiors of Africa; it was a support technology rather than the decisive factor.
Option 3: 'The machine gun' — This option identifies the crucial military technology that transformed late 19th-century warfare. The rapid-fire, reliable firepower of machine guns (notably the Maxim gun) gave European forces a decisive advantage in battles and campaigns against larger but less technologically equipped African armies, enabling control over large territories with relatively smaller numbers. This is the commonly cited key factor in imperial expansion.
Option 4: 'Electricity' — Although electricity and modern infrastructure later played roles in administration and industry, it was not the central enabling factor that allowed rapid conquest in the precolonial era. It did not provide the immediate battlefield advantage that machine guns did.
Taken together, the analysis shows that the decisive edge in many campaigns was the firepower provided by the machine gun, which dramatically altered combat dynamics and facilitated imperial expansion. The other options describe influential technologies or forces, but they do not match the primary factor that historians emphasize as the key driver of European conquest in Africa during the scramble era.

ECON 1740-090 Fall 2025 Quiz Week 3

Key to the European conquest of Africa was

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