Prescribed Subjects

1. Military leaders

  • Case study 1: Genghis Khan c1200-1227

    • Leadership:

      • Rise to power; uniting of rival tribes

      • Motives and objectives; success in achieving those objectives

      • Reputation: military prowess; naming as Genghis Khan (1206)

      • Importance of Genghis Khan’s leadership to Mongol success

    • Campaigns:

      • Mongol invasion of China: attacks on the Jin dynasty; capture of Beijing (1215)

      • Mongol invasion of Central Asia and Iran; Mongol invasion of Khwarezmia (1219–1221)

      • Mongol military technology, organization, strategy and tactics

    • Impact:

      • Political impact: administration; overthrowing of existing ruling systems; establishment of Mongol law/Yassa; move towards meritocracy

      • Economic impact: establishment, enhancement and protection of trade routes

      • Social, cultural and religious impact: population displacement; terror, looting and murdering; raiding and destruction of settlements; religious, cultural and technological exchange; religious freedom under the Mongols

  • Case study 2: Richard I of England (1173-1199)

    • Leadership:

      • Rise to power: revolt of Richard I and his brothers against Henry II (1173–1174)

      • Reputation: military prowess; chivalry; “Richard the Lionheart”

      • Motives and objectives: defence and recovery of the French lands; defence of the crusader states and recovery of lost territory; success in achieving those objectives

    • Campaigns:

      • Occupation of Sicily (1190–1191); conquest of Cyprus (1191)

      • Involvement in the Third Crusade (1191–1192)

      • The course, outcome and effects of Richard I’s campaigns in France, the Mediterranean and the Middle East

    • Impact:

      • Political impact in England: absence of the king; political instability; revolt of John and Philip in Richard’s absence

      • Political impact in France: growth in prestige and strength of the Capetian monarchy; expansion of royal control

      • Economic impact: raising money for campaigns; taxation of clergy; raising of the ransom after his capture and imprisonment by Leopold V, Duke of Austria and Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor (1193)

      • Social, cultural and religious impact: anti-Jewish violence; treatment of Muslim prisoners during the Third Crusade

2. Conquest and its impact

  • Case study 1: The final stages of Muslim rule in Spain

    • Context and motives:

      • Political context in Iberia and Al-Andalus in the late 15th century; internal conflicts and alliances in Granada in the late 15th century

      • Social and economic context in Iberia and Al-Andalus in the late 15th century; coexistence of population; intercultural exchange; economic decline; heavy taxation

      • Motives: political motives; religious motives and the role of the church

    • Key events and actors:

      • The Granada War and the conquest of Granada (1482–1492)

      • Treaty of Granada (1491); Alhambra decree (1492)

      • Key actors: Fernando de Aragón and Isabel de Castilla; Abu Abdallah, last king of Granada

    • Impact:

      • Social and demographic changes; persecution, enslavement and emigration; new institutions: encomienda, fueros

      • Forced conversions and expulsions; Marranos, Mudéjars

      • The Spanish Inquisition

  • Case study 2: The conquest of Mexico and Peru (1519-1551)

    • Context and motives:

      • Political and economic motives for exploration and conquest

      • Religious arguments for the conquest

    • Key events and actors:

      • Hernán Cortés and the campaign against the Aztec Empire; alliances with indigenous populations

      • Francisco Pizarro and the campaign against the Incas; alliances with indigenous populations

      • Key actors: Diego de Almagro, Malinche, Atahualpa, Moctezuma II; Las Casas against Sepúlveda

    • Impact:

      • Social and economic impact on indigenous populations; the encomienda and Mita systems

      • Causes and effects of demographic change; spread of disease

      • Cultural interaction and exchange

3. The move to global war

  • Case study 1: Japanese expansion in East Asia (1931-1941)

    • Causes of expansion:

      • The impact of Japanese nationalism and militarism on foreign policy

      • Japanese domestic issues: political and economic issues, and their impact on foreign relations

      • Political instability in China

    • Events:

      • Japanese invasion of Manchuria and northern China (1931)

      • Sino-Japanese War (1937–1941)

      • The Three Power/Tripartite Pact; the outbreak of war; Pearl Harbor (1941)

    • Responses:

      • League of Nations and the Lytton report

      • Political developments within China—the Second United Front

      • International response, including US initiatives and increasing tensions between the US and Japan

  • Case study 2: German and Italian expansion (1933-1940)

    • Causes of expansion:

      • Impact of fascism and Nazism on the foreign policies of Italy and Germany

      • Impact of domestic economic issues on the foreign policies of Italy and Germany

      • Changing diplomatic alignments in Europe; the end of collective security; appeasement

    • Events:

      • German challenges to the post-war settlements (1933–1938)

      • Italian expansion: Abyssinia (1935–1936); Albania; entry into the Second World War

      • German expansion (1938–1939); Pact of Steel, Nazi–Soviet Pact and the outbreak of war

    • Responses:

      • International response to German aggression (1933–1938)

      • International response to Italian aggression (1935–1936)

      • International response to German and Italian aggression (1940)

4. Rights and protest

  • Case study 1: Civil rights movement in the United States (1954-1965)

    • Nature and characteristics of discrimination:

      • Racism and violence against African Americans; the Ku Klux Klan; disenfranchisement

      • Segregation and education; Brown versus Board of Education decision (1954); Little Rock (1957)

      • Economic and social discrimination; legacy of the Jim Crow laws; impact on individuals

    • Protests and action:

      • Non-violent protests; Montgomery bus boycott (1955–1956); Freedom Rides (1961); Freedom Summer (1964)

      • Legislative changes: Civil Rights Act (1964); Voting Rights Act (1965)

    • The role and significance of key actors/groups:

      • Key actors: Martin Luther King Jr; Malcolm X; Lyndon B Johnson

      • Key groups: National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP); Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC); the Nation of Islam (Black Muslims)

  • Case study 2: Apartheid South Africa (1948-1964)

    • Nature and characteristics of discrimination:

      • “Petty Apartheid” and “Grand Apartheid” legislation

      • Division and “classification”; segregation of populations and amenities; creation of townships/forced removals; segregation of education; Bantustan system; impact on individuals

    • Protests and action:

      • Non-violent protests: bus boycotts; defiance campaign, Freedom Charter

      • Increasing violence: the Sharpeville massacre (1960) and the decision to adopt the armed struggle

      • Official response: the Rivonia trial (1963–1964) and the imprisonment of the ANC leadership

    • The role and significance of key actors/groups:

      • Key individuals: Nelson Mandela; Albert Luthuli

      • Key groups: the African National Congress (ANC); the South African Communist Party (SACP) and the MK (Umkhonto we Sizwe—“Spear of the Nation”)

5. Conflict and intervention

  • Case study 1: Rwanda (1990-1998)

    • Causes of the conflict:

      • Ethnic tensions in Rwanda; the creation of the Hutu power movement and the Interahamwe; role of the media

      • Other causes: economic situation; colonial legacy

      • Rwandan Civil War (1990–1993); assassination of Habyarimana and Ntaryamira (1994)

    • Course and interventions:

      • Actions of the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) and Rwandan government; role of the media

      • Nature of the genocide and other crimes against humanity; war rape

      • Response of the international community; the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR); reasons for inaction; role of France, Belgium and the US

    • Impact:

      • Social impact; refugee crisis; justice and reconciliation

      • International impact; establishment of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (1994)

      • Political and economic impact; RPF-led governments; continued warfare in the Democratic Republic of Congo (Zaire)

  • Case study 2: Kosovo (1989-2002)

    • Causes of the conflict:

      • Ethnic tensions between Serbs and Kosovar Albanians; rising Albanian nationalism

      • Political causes: constitutional reforms (1989–1994); repression of the Albanian independence campaign

      • Role and significance of Slobodan Milosevic and Ibrahim Rugova

    • Course and interventions:

      • Actions of Kosovo Liberation Army, Serbian government police and military

      • Ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity; significance of the Račak massacre

      • Response of the international community; response of the UN; NATO bombing campaign; Kosovo Force (KFOR)

    • Impact:

      • Social and economic consequences; refugee crisis; damage to infrastructure

      • Political impact in Kosovo; election of Ibrahim Rugova as president (2002)

      • International reaction and impact; International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY); indictment of Milosevic

PreviousSyllabusNextWorld History Topics

Last updated