A system of government by which people held land and received protection in return for giving work or military help is called

Step 1: Analyze the question The question describes a system where people held land and received protection in return for work or military service. We need the term that matches this arrangement.

Step 2: Explain the concept Feudalism was a system of social, political, and economic organization, most associated with medieval Europe. Its key features:

• A lord (or king) owned the land.
• Vassals were given land (a fief) to hold.
• In return, vassals provided military service or labour and loyalty.
• The lord gave protection to those who lived on and worked the land.
• Peasants or serfs worked the land and in turn received protection.

In Nigeria, a similar arrangement existed in the Sokoto Caliphate and the Hausa-Fulani emirate system, where land was held under the emir and people owed loyalty, taxes, and service in return for protection.

Step 3: Check each option

• A. Capitalism: an economic system based on private ownership and profit. It does not involve land in exchange for protection.
• B. Communalism: land and resources are owned and shared by the community. It does not involve a lord-vassal relationship.
• C. Democracy: government by the people through elected representatives. It does not match the description.
• D. Feudalism: land is held in exchange for service and protection. This matches the description.
• E. Oligarchy: rule by a small group of people. It says nothing about land-for-service arrangements.

Step 4: Answer The correct answer is D. Feudalism.

Exam tip: Link the key words land + protection + service with feudalism. Remember it as: "Feudal = Fief for Fighting/Farming." When you see land given in exchange for loyalty, think feudalism.