Evaluate the significance of colonial expansion to the decline of the East African slave trade.

The question requires that candidates make an appraisal of the significance of colonial expansion as a factor in the decline of the East African slave trade. They may consider the role of European missionaries and humanitarians who campaigned against the trade and highlighted its iniquities and/or suggest that public opinion contributed to British diplomatic pressure, which was a factor in the closing of the Zanzibar market in 1873. Conversion to Christianity also helped stigmatize the institution of slavery among Africans. Candidates may note the significance of factors other than colonial expansion—such as the decline in demand for plantation slaves in the Americas with the introduction of machinery, the expansion of legitimate trade and the role of anti-slave trade treaties—to provide context and/or a reference point for their evaluation; however, the bulk of their response must be focused on colonial expansion.