Evaluate the factors that facilitated German annexation in Africa.

The question requires that candidates make an appraisal by weighing up the strengths and limitations of the various factors that facilitated German annexation in Africa. They may, for example, consider the importance of the Berlin West Africa Conference, during which the assembled countries facilitated German actions by rubber stamping the country’s acquisition of new colonial possessions. Candidates may also focus on the role of economic factors, with Africa increasingly viewed as a source of raw materials and market for finished products, particularly following Leopold’s actions in the Congo. Candidates may also consider the role of surprise—few had expected Germany to suddenly become a player in the colonial game. While candidates may also look at general factors that facilitated colonial expansion, the focus must be on German annexation.