were far more effective than African spears; and although there were al-
ways traders who were willing to make a profit by selling guns to Africans,
most of the guns they dispensed were poor-quality, obsolescent models,
grossly inferior to those used by the British army and the colonists;' Even
where Africans gained the upper hand in the opening stages of a conflict,
they lost it as time went on. They lacked the equipment to capture fortified
positions or laagers composed of circles of wagons, and when Africans
resorted to guerrilla tactics the invaders forced them into submission by
71