History Grade 10 Source-Based Questions and Answers for 2020: This page contains a collection of History Grade 10 source-based questions and answers for the year 2020. The questions were asked during real exams and control tests written in Term 1, Term 2, Term 3, and Term 4.
How to answer Source-based questions and answers
- The key question provides the focus of the content in the sources.
- It will also be asked as the paragraph question.
- Make brief notes about each source you could include in the paragraph.
- The source will be labelled e.g. Source 1C
- The source will be contextualised – it will indicate what the source is about, why it was written, who wrote (owner of) the source, when it was written and where the event took place.
- Read the source with understanding.
- Highlight concepts / terms. In this source e.g., communism/amnesty
History Grade 10 Shaka Source-Based Questions and Answers for 2020
HOW DID SHAKA, A WARRIOR, CONSOLIDATE THE POWERFUL ZULU KINGDOM?
Study Source 1A, 1B, 1C and 1D and answer the questions that follow
1.1. Refer to Source 1A.
| Nandi and her son sought sanctuary in the Mhlathuze Valley of the Langeni people. Here, growing up as a fatherless child, Shaka seems to have been the victim of humiliation and cruel treatment by the Langeni boys. At that time there were two strong rival Nguni groups, the Mthethwa led by the paramount chief Dingiswayo, and the Ndwandwe under the ferocious cruel Zwide … He thus grew up in the court of Dingiswayo, who welcomed them with friendliness. Shaka, however, suffered much from the bullying and teasing of the Mthethwa boys, too, who resented his claims to chiefly descent. As he grew to manhood, Shaka began to discover new talents and faculties. Outwardly, he was tall and powerfully built, and his skill and daring gave him a natural mastery over the youths in his age group; inwardly, he was developing a thirst for power. Probably when he was about twenty-three years old, he was drafted into one of the Mthethwa regiments where he found a satisfaction he had never known before. With the impi in the iziCwe regiment, he had the companionship he had previously lacked, while the battlefield provided a stadium in which he could demonstrate his talents and courage. His outstanding deeds of courage attracted the attention of his overlord and, rising rapidly in Dingiswayo’s army, he became one of his foremost commanders … While in the Mthethwa army Shaka became engrossed in problems of strategy and battle tactics, and Dingiswayo contributed much toward Shaka’s later accomplishments in war. Militarism was thereafter to be a way of life for him, and one that he was to inflict on thousands of others. |
1.1.1. Who according to the source, was Shaka’s mother? (1 x 1) (1)
1.1.2. Explain what is meant by, ‘growing up as a fatherless child’. (1 x 2) (2)
1.1.3. Name the chiefs of the following Nguni groups:
(a) Mthethwa
(b) Ndwandwe (2 x 1)
1.1.4. Use the information in the source and your own knowledge and explain how Shaka developed into a warrior. (2 x 2) (4)
1.1.5. Explain how Dingiswayo contributed towards Shaka’s accomplishments.
1.2. Read Source 1B.
| KwaBulawayo. Shaka’s first capital was on the banks of the Mhodi, a small tributary (branch) of the Mkhumbane River in the Babanango district. He named his great place KwaBulawayo (‘at the place of the murder’). As his kingdom grew, he built a far bigger KwaBulawayo, … Economic and social changes. The development of the military system caused major economic and social changes. So much youth was concentrated at the royal barracks that it resulted in a massive transfer of economic potential to a centralised state. However, the cattle wealth of the whole community throughout the kingdom was greatly improved; even though most of the herds were owned by the king and his chiefs and indunas, all shared in the pride roused by the magnificence of the royal herds as well as the pride of belonging to the unequalled military power of the Zulu. Effects of Shaka’s wars: His wars were accompanied by great slaughter and caused many migrations. Their effects were felt even far north of the Zambezi River. Because they feared Shaka, leaders like Zwangendaba, Mzilikazi, and Shoshangane moved northwards far into the central African interior and in their turn sowed war and destruction before developing their own kingdoms. Some estimate that during his reign Shaka caused the death of more than a million people. Shaka’s wars between 1818 and 1828 contributed to a series of forced migrations known in various parts of southern Africa as the Mfecane, Difaqane, Lifaqane or Fetcani. Groups of refugees from Shaka’s assaults, first Hlubi and Ngwane clans, later followed by the Mantatees and the Matabele of Mzilikazi, crossed the Drakensberg to the west, smashing chiefdoms in their path. Famine and chaos followed the wholesale extermination (killing) … Old chiefdoms vanished and new ones were created. |
1.2.1. What according to the source, was the name of Shaka’s capital? (1 x 1)
1.2.2. Give another meaning of the word ‘KwaBulawayo’. (1 x 1)
1.2.3. Explain the term ‘Mfecane’, in the context of Shaka’s wars during his reign. (1 x 2)
1.2.4. Provide THREE names of chiefs or leaders that moved northwards due to fear of Shaka. (3 x 1) (3)
1.2.5. How, according to the source, did the development of the military system cause major economic and social changes in the Zulu kingdom?(3 x 1)
1.2.6. Using the information in the source and your own knowledge, explain the consequences of Shaka’s wars. (2 x 2)
Consult Source 1C.
| By the time the first white traders arrived at Port Natal in 1824, Shaka was in control of a centralised monarchy, which spanned the entire eastern coastal belt from the Pongola River in the north to the lands beyond the Tugela in the south. That year, Henry Francis Fynn and Francis Farewell visited Shaka … Shaka accorded (gave) the white traders most favoured treatment, ceded (give up) them land, and permitted them to build a settlement at Port Natal. He was curious about their technological developments, was anxious to learn much more about warfare, and he was especially interested in the culture they represented. Moreover, he was alert to the advantages that their trade might bring to him. In 1826, in order to be closer and more accessible to the settlers at Port Natal, Shaka built large military barracks at Dukuza, (‘the place where one gets lost’) … During his lifetime, there were no conflicts between the whites and the Zulus, as Shaka did not want to precipitate clashes with the military forces of the Cape colonial government. H F Fynn, who knew him well, found him intelligent and often amiable (kind/friendly), and mentioned occasions that leave no doubt that Shaka was capable of generosity. Freed from the restrictions that limited most chiefs, Shaka acted as an undisputed, almighty ruler. A cruel tyrant, he had men executed with a nod of his head. The loyalties of his people were severely strained as the frequent cruelties of their great king increased steadily. |
1.3.1 Name TWO white traders that visited Shaka in 1824. (2 x 1)
1.3.2. According to the source, what was the reasons for Shaka to welcome the white traders? (3 x 1)
1.3.3. Provide evidence from the source that suggest that Shaka had a kind and friendly character. (2 x 1)
1.3.4. According to the source, how was Shaka perceived? (2 x 1)
1.3.5. Explain, what do you think the traders’ ulterior (hidden) motives for visiting Shaka was? (1 x 2)
1.4. Read Source 1D.
1.4.1. What message does the picture portray about Shaka? Use the visual clues from the source to support your answer. (1 x 2)
1.4.2. Compare Source 1A and Source 1D. Explain, how the information in Source 1A support the evidence in Source 1D with regards to Shaka consolidating the Zulu kingdom? (2 x 2)
1.5. Using the information in the relevant sources and your own knowledge, write a paragraph of about SIX lines (about 60 words) explaining how Shaka a warrior, consolidated a powerful Zulu kingdom.
History Grade 10 Colonial Expansion Source-Based Questions and Answers for 2020
QUESTION 2: HOW DID BRITISH COLONIALISM IMPACT ON THE LIVES OF THE PEOPLE OF THE CAPE COLONY?
Study sources 2A, 2B, 2C and 2D and answer the questions that follow.
2.1. Refer to Source 2A.
| Nongqawuse, … was a prophetess of the Great Xhosa cattle killing of 1856–1857. Nongqawuse was an orphan living with her uncle Mhlakaza at the Gxarha River in independent Xhosa land … One day in April 1856, she informed her household that she had encountered two stranger spirits from another world who told her that the entire nation would rise from the dead provided that the Xhosa slaughtered all their cattle and destroyed all their corn. The reason given was that people and animals alike had been defiled (spoiled) by witchcraft and that the living must cleanse themselves from all contamination (uncleanness) so that new people and pure cattle would rise. Nongqawuse’s prophecies were embraced (welcomed) by the overwhelming majority of the Xhosa people … Even worse, they had seen their cattle herds decimated (killed) by an alien disease of bovine lung sickness, thus giving credence (trust) to the prophetic message that, “They have been wicked (evil) and everything belonging to them is therefore bad.” A small minority of Xhosas, known as amagogotya (stingy ones) refused to slaughter their cattle and this refusal was used by Nongqawuse to rationalise (justify) the failure of the prophecy over a period of fifteen months (April 1856–June 1857). |
2.1.1. Define the term colonialism in your own words. (1 x 2)
2.1.2. Who, according to the source, appeared to Nongqawuse? (1 x 1)
2.1.3. What, according to the source, were the instructions of the two strange spirits to Nongqawuse about the Xhosa nation? (2 x 1)
2.1.4. Extract evidence from the source, that Nongqawuse used to justify the failure of the prophecy. (1 x
2.1.5. Use your own knowledge to explain the effects of the cattle killing on the Xhosa nation. (2 x 2)
2.2. Consult Source 2B.
| At times called the ‘Magna Carta of the Coloured people’, this law (Ordinance 50) in 1828 gave ‘Hottentots and other free persons of colour’ the same rights as whites in the Cape Colony. When the Dutch settled at the Cape in 1652, the indigenous people they found in the area were Khoikhoi (previously called Hottentots). In law, these people were free … Over time, many Khoikhoi lost their cattle and economic independence and became labourers for whites. Over time too, a growing group of people of mixed parentage (whites, Khoikhoi and slaves) was created and were joined by freed slaves … Simultaneously (at the same time) with the British occupation of the Cape in the 1790s, missionaries, fresh from Britain already in the throes of the antislavery movement, arrived to begin work with these very people. For the next several decades, they led the fight to alleviate (ease) discrimination and exploitation. Generally, the British colonial officials wanted to avoid trouble from the white settlers and were reluctant (doubtful) to take action … However, missionaries still complained about abuse and the inequality suffered by the ‘Coloured People’. … Ordinance 50 was the result. It stated that henceforward, ‘Hottentots and other free persons of colour’ were to be subject to no laws to which whites were not also subject, including the ‘vagrancy’ practices and pass requirements. Freedom to move and freedom to own land were explicitly (clearly) decreed (declared). It therefore forbade (stopped) any racially discriminatory legislation and decreed (declared) equality before the law … |
2.2.1. Who, according to the source, were the indigenous people of the Cape in 1652? (1 x 1)
2.2.2. Provide evidence from the source, which indicates the positive changes made by the missionaries on their arrival in the Cape Colony. (2 x 1)
2.2.3. Comment on the consequences (end results) of the Ordinance 50 on the Boers. (2 x 2)
2.3. Study Source 2C.
| The Great Trek was a massive (big) movement – Great Journey or migration of the dissatisfied Afrikaners. The Afrikaners (Boers and their servants) from the Cape Colony moved into the interior of South Africa to get a free safe haven, as they also hoped to establish a settlement of their own, free from British influence and interference … They also moved away from the colonial administration of the British and those who trekked were semi-nomadic pastoralists who wanted large areas of land between 1830–1840s. The movement of the Boers involved slightly over 14 000 people who wanted to establish settlements of their own … When the British settled at the Cape, they initiated (started) Anglicisation and the area became a British colony. The Boers were forced to adopt English as an official language, which others resented and became very unhappy. When the British came to the Cape Colony, they favoured the Africans, introduced the black Circuit Courts where Africans could sue their Boer masters … The British introduced the 50th Ordinance in 1828. The Ordinance favoured Africans to work for the people whom they voluntarily chose. The role of Christian missionaries led to the discontent (dissatisfaction) of the Boers who now moved dissatisfied with the triumph of the latter’s work. The slave trade and slavery were abolished at the Cape Colony in 1834 … There was also land shortage as a result of over population, which forced the Boers to move away … The Boers considered themselves a chosen race of God. They did not want to mix with the Africans. |
2.3.1. Extract evidence from the source, which suggests the expectations of the Boers when they moved from the Cape to the interior. (3 x 1)
2.3.2. What, according to the source, was the Boers reaction to Anglicisation?
2.3.3. Use the source and identify the Boers dissatisfaction with the missionaries which led to the Great Trek.
2.3.4. Explain why the Boers were interested in getting more land. (2 x 2)
2.3.5. Comment on the Boers attitude towards the Blacks in the Cape Colony.
History Grade 10 South African War Source-Based Questions and Answers for 2020
Question 3: HOW DID THE SOUTH AFRICAN WAR AFFECT THE LIVES OF BOTH THE BOERS AND THE BLACK SOUTH AFRICANS DURING THE YEARS 1899 TO 1902?
Study Sources 3A, 3B, 3C and 3D and answer the questions that follow.
Refer to Source 3A.
| “The South African War broke out on 11 October 1899 between the two former Boer republics (Transvaal and the Orange Free State) and the British. But war touches the lives of all inhabitants of the affected country and it would be unacceptable to not acknowledge the many ways it destroyed the lives of the black population groups including the Khoi, San, Zulu, Xhosa, Tsonga, and Swati. Whether their role was voluntary or involuntary; combatant or non-combatant, we would be doing an injustice to our history if we removed them from this war. Black people were conscripted and used as slaves and servants as scouts, messengers, watchmen in blockhouses, despatch runners, cattle raiders, trench diggers, drivers, labourers, ‘agterryers’ and auxiliaries. The ‘agterryers’ were used by the Boers for guarding ammunition, cooking, collecting firewood, mending the horses, and loading firearms for battle. It is important to note that auxiliaries were also used in fighting, evident in some of the photographs taken during the war. At least 15 000 blacks were used as combatants by the British and also by both British and Boers as wagon drivers.” |
3.1.1.Identify TWO Boer Republics that were involved in the South African War. (2 x 1)
3.1.2. When, according to the source, did the South African War break out? (1 x 1)
3.1.3. Name the black population groups which were also affected by this war. (4 x 1)
3.1.4. Use your knowledge and explain why the war was known as a the ‘white man’s war’. (1 x 2)
3.1.5. Comment on why the black population groups regarded the South African War as their advantage.
3.2. Read Source 3B.
| 30 May 1902 is the date used to mark the deaths of at least 15 000 Black Africans in concentration camps that housed approximately 115 000 of their number during the Second Anglo-Boer War (26,370 Boer women and children died in separate ‘concentration’ camps as well, and those camps included Black servants). The date is significant because it comes the day before the signing of the “peace” agreement, the Treaty of Vereeniging, at Melrose House in Pretoria on 31 May 1902. Later estimates put the number at closer to 20,000 Black Africans, the majority of whom were children, the causes of death being primarily medical neglect, exposure, infectious diseases (e.g., measles, whooping cough, typhoid fever, diphtheria and dysentery) and malnutrition. The establishment of these camps was but one part of a ‘Scorched Earth Policy’ adopted by British Commander Lord Kitchener during the South African War (‘once called the last gentleman’s war’) as a counter-measure to the Boers’ guerrilla strategy employed at the end of 1900. |
3.2.1. Explain what is meant by the ‘Scorched Earth Policy’. (1 x 2)
3.2.2. What, according to the source, were the reasons for the escalating number of deaths in the Black concentration camps? (3 x 1)
3.2.3. Use your own knowledge to explain why the treatment of Blacks and Whites in the camps was not the same. (1 x 2)
3.2.4. Comment on the significance of the signing of the Treaty of Vereeniging. (2 x 2)
3.3. Consult Source 3C.
| Lizzie van Zyl was a frail (slender), weak little child in desperate need of good care. Yet, because her mother was one of the “undesirables” due to the fact that her father neither surrendered nor betrayed his people. Lizzie was placed on the lowest rations and so perished with hunger that, after a month in the camp, she was transferred to the new small hospital. Here she was treated harshly. The English disposed doctor and his nurses did not understand her language and, as she could not speak English, labelled her an idiot although she was mentally fit and normal … Summarising the reasons for the high fatality rate, she writes, “Numbers crowded into small tents: some sick, some dying, occasionally a dead one among them; scanty rations dealt out raw; lack of fuel to cook them; lack of water for drinking, for cooking, for washing; lack of soap, brushes and other instruments of personal cleanliness; lack of bedding or of beds to keep the body off the bare earth; lack of clothing for warmth and in many cases for decency …”. Her conclusion is that the whole system is cruel and should be abolished. |
3.3.1. Identify TWO conditions that shows Lizzie was in need of good care.
3.3.2. Why, according to the source, was Lizzie’s mother regarded as an ‘undesirable’? (2 x 1)
3.3.3. Provide evidence from the source which indicates the reasons for the high fatality rate in the concentration camps. (4 x 1)
3.3.4. Using your own knowledge, explain the relationship between the Boers and the British. (2 x 2)
