External Influences

Contents & notes: what this topic covers

Under External Influences, the JAMB History syllabus expects you to study:

• 5. External Influences: a. North Africans/Arabs/Tuaregs i. introduction, spread and impact of Islam;
• ii. trans-Saharan trade.
• b. Europeans: i. early European trade with the coastal states.
• ii. the trans-Atlantic slave trade (origin, organization and impact) iii. impact of early missionary activities in the coastal areas.
• SECTION B: THE NIGERIA AREA 1800 – 1900

Study notes & guidance

Study External Influences using a recommended History textbook that follows the JAMB syllabus. Work through the contents listed above one by one, make brief notes in your own words, and then practise as many questions on this topic as you can — in History, understanding and steady practice matter far more than memorising. Use the objectives below as a checklist: if you can do each one confidently, you have mastered this topic.

Objectives — candidates should be able to

After studying External Influences, you should be able to:

1. Assess the impact of the contact with North Africa on the people and states South of the Sahara;
2. Highlight the role of the tuaregs in the trans Saharan trade;
3. Examine the impact of early European contact with the coastal people;
4. Outline the impact of the early Christians missionary activities in the costal arears;
5. Trace the origin, organization and impact of the trans-Atlantic slave trade.

These objectives are from the official JAMB syllabus. Use them as a checklist — if you can do each one confidently, you have mastered this topic.

Source: official JAMB UTME History syllabus (IBASS, jamb.gov.ng). Reproduced for study use. Last checked: 17 Sept 2026. Always confirm the current syllabus on the official portal.