OCR A-Level History A H505
Y101: Alfred and the Making of England 871–1016Unit group 1
Y102: Anglo-Saxon England and the Norman Conquest 1035–1107Unit group 1
Y103: England 1199–1272Unit group 1
Y104: England 1377–1455Unit group 1
Y105: England 1445–1509: Lancastrians, Yorkists and Henry VIIUnit group 1
Y106: England 1485–1558: The Early TudorsUnit group 1
Y107: England 1547–1603: The Later TudorsUnit group 1
Y108: The Early Stuarts and the Origins of the Civil War 1603–1660Unit group 1
Y109: The Making of Georgian Britain 1678–c.1760Unit group 1
Y110: From Pitt to Peel 1783–1853Unit group 1
Y111: Liberals, Conservatives and the Rise of Labour 1846–1918Unit group 1
Y112: Britain 1900–1951Unit group 1
Y113: Britain 1930–1997Unit group 1
Y201: The Rise of Islam c.550–750Unit group 2
Y202: Charlemagne 768–814Unit group 2
Y203: The Crusades and the Crusader States 1095–1192Unit group 2
Y204: Genghis Khan and the Explosion From the Steppes c.1167–1405Unit group 2
Y205: Exploration, Encounters and Empire 1445–1570Unit group 2
Y206: Spain 1469–1556Unit group 2
Y207: The German Reformation and the Rule of Charles v 1500–1559Unit group 2
Y208: Philip II 1556–1598Unit group 2
Y209: African Kingdoms c.1400–c.1800: Four Case StudiesUnit group 2
Y210: Russia 1645–1741Unit group 2
Y211: The Rise and Decline of the Mughal Empire in India 1526–1739Unit group 2
Y212: The American Revolution 1740–1796Unit group 2
Y213: The French Revolution and the Rule of Napoleon 1774–1815Unit group 2
Y214: France 1814–1870Unit group 2
Y215: Italy and Unification 1789–1896Unit group 2
Y216: The USA in the 19th Century: Westward Expansion and Civil War 1803–c.1890Unit group 2
Y217: Japan 1853–1937Unit group 2
Y218: International Relations 1890–1941Unit group 2
Y219: Russia 1894–1941Unit group 2
Y220: Italy 1896–1943Unit group 2
Y221: Democracy and Dictatorships in Germany 1919–1963Unit group 2
Y222: The Cold War in Asia 1945–1993Unit group 2
Y223: The Cold War in Europe 1941–1995Unit group 2
Y224: Apartheid and Reconciliation: South African Politics 1948–1999Unit group 2
Y301: The Early Anglo-Saxons c.400–800Unit group 3
Y302: The Viking Age c.790–1066Unit group 3
Y303: English Government and the Church 1066–1216Unit group 3
Y304: The Church and Medieval Heresy c.1100–1437Unit group 3
Y305: The Renaissance c.1400–c.1600Unit group 3
Y306: Rebellion and Disorder Under the Tudors 1485–1603Unit group 3
Y307: Tudor Foreign Policy 1485–1603Unit group 3
Y308: The Catholic Reformation 1492–1610Unit group 3
Y309: The Ascendancy of the Ottoman Empire 1453–1606Unit group 3
Y310: The Development of the Nation State: France 1498–1610Unit group 3
Y311: The Origins and Growth of the British Empire 1558–1783Unit group 3
Y312: Popular Culture and the Witchcraze of the 16th and 17th CenturiesUnit group 3
Y313: The Ascendancy of France 1610–1715Unit group 3
Y314: The Challenge of German Nationalism 1789–1919Unit group 3
Y315: The Changing Nature of Warfare 1792–1945Unit group 3
Y316: Britain and Ireland 1791–1921Unit group 3
Y317: China and Its Rulers 1839–1989Unit group 3
Y318: Russia and Its Rulers 1855–1964Unit group 3
Y319: Civil Rights in the USA 1865–1992Unit group 3
Y320: From Colonialism to Independence: The British Empire 1857–1965Unit group 3
Y321: The Middle East 1908–2011: Ottomans to Arab SpringUnit group 3
Y209: African Kingdoms c.1400–c.1800: Four Case Studies
The Kingdoms and Empires of Oyo and Dahomey 1608–c.1800: the rise of Oyo and Dahomey, their armies and their kings
- 1 thing to know
- Unit group 2
Overview
Recall questions on West Africa around 1600, the re-establishment of Oyo and its cavalry, the rise and coastal conquests of Dahomey, the two armies, and the powers of the Alafin and the king of Dahomey.
What you need to know
Answer each one before you reveal it.
Questions from this subtopic
Each one with the model answer underneath.
- 1
What was the situation in West Africa around 1600?
Model answer
Oyo was recovering from defeat and exile at the hands of Nupe and Borgu, the Fon states of the Abomey plateau were still small and inland, and the growth of European trade on the Slave Coast was beginning to reshape the region's politics.
- 2
How was Oyo re-established at the beginning of the seventeenth century?
Model answer
After a long exile at Igboho following the destruction of the old capital, Alafin Abipa led the Yoruba court back to Oyo-Ile around 1608 and rebuilt it, launching the empire's period of expansion.
- 3
Why was cavalry the foundation of Oyo's power?
Model answer
Oyo lay in open savannah where horses could be used, and by importing horses from the north it built a mounted force that could raid and dominate the grassland; that advantage disappeared in the forest belt, which limited how far south Oyo could rule directly.
- 4
How did the kingdom of Dahomey rise?
Model answer
It grew from the Fon kingdom of Abomey, consolidated in the later seventeenth century by rulers of the line of Wegbaja, who built an unusually centralised monarchy and a disciplined standing army in place of loose clan authority.
- 5
Which conquests gave Dahomey direct access to the Atlantic trade?
Model answer
Agaja's conquest of Allada in 1724 and of Whydah in 1727 carried Dahomey to the coast and gave its king direct control of the ports through which slaves and European goods passed.
- 6
Contrast the armies of Oyo and Dahomey.
Model answer
Oyo's strength lay in cavalry raised from the savannah and from tribute in horses, while Dahomey, in country where horses could not survive, relied on a permanent, drilled infantry armed with muskets bought on the coast.
Other ways to work this
The same content, four other ways.
What is inside Levo
Six ways to work the same material.
Every question in Y209: African Kingdoms c.1400–c.1800: Four Case Studies, on a schedule.
Attempt a question from memory, write the correct version, then attempt it again. Levo records the jump between your first attempt and your last, and brings each question back on the day you are due to forget it.
Or £46 a year, about £3.83 a month. Cancel anytime.