1. D
As powerful as a vassal (landowner) may have been during the European Middle Ages, they still were subservient to the king. This passage, therefore, illustrates the hierarchical structure present in France at the time. Choice (D) is correct. There is no mention of the pope or of any parliamentary rule, and the highest authority referenced in the passage is the king of France. Therefore, (A) and (B) are incorrect. The author of this text swears that she will seek approval from the king before she weds. This society is not exactly a bastion of feminism. Eliminate (C).
2. A
Upon the urbanization of feudal Europe, more demands were placed upon women. Women logged long hours at factories, while still having to fulfill their traditional roles as caretakers for their husbands, children, and homes. Therefore, (A), that women experienced fewer freedoms, is correct. The move towards urbanization made for a less agricultural economy. Eliminate (B). Middle- and upper-class women were expected to master the domestic sphere, and thus remain private and separate from the realities of the working world. Therefore, (C) and (D) are incorrect.
3. C
Incan women were expected to help work the fields, weave cloth, and care for the household. They could pass property on to their daughters and even played a role in religion. Aztec women were primarily charged with running the household, but they were also involved in skilled crafts, especially weaving, as well as commerce. This is a far cry from the householder obligations of European women that largely kept them hidden from public. Choice (C) is correct. This would also lead to the elimination of (A), as women participated widely in the Incan and Aztec communities. There is no evidence that Incan and Aztec women were known for holding political positions. Eliminate (B). Feudal Europe was controlled by a very patriarchal Church. Women did not hold leadership positions in the Roman Church. Eliminate (D).
4. B
The woman who took this oath has nothing to give the king directly. Therefore if she breaks her vow, she promises to give the king the “lands and fiefs” of her men, who do own property, unlike the author. Choice (B) can be inferred from this information and is correct. The vassal vowed permission from the king, not that he would officiate her wedding. Eliminate (A). Since the author of this passage had to ask permission of the king, she was not free to marry. Eliminate (C). Finally, eliminate (D) since middle- and upper-class women were expected to master the domestic sphere, and thus remain private and separate from the realities of the working world.
5. D
Tantalized by the new resources available in the New World, Spain undertook a conquest of the newly discovered continents. Choice (D) is correct. Choice (A) is incorrect as it is too extreme in scope: Spain did lay claim to much of the new continent, though certainly not its entirety (don’t forget about France and the United Kingdom). Spain kept the territories it colonized for a long period of time (until those territories were lost in wars and revolutions). Eliminate (B). Those wars and revolutions came much later and were, for the most part, not against other European powers. Therefore, (C) is incorrect.
6. C
With the promise of new colonies and riches, the Spanish backed the voyages of Columbus, as well as other explorers. Portugal followed soon thereafter. Therefore, (C) is correct. While “civilizing” native populations has been a constant justification for establishing colonies, it would not be the correct answer here, as Columbus does not suggest such a thing. Eliminate (A). There were no major military powers in the New World at the time of Columbus’s journey, so (B) is incorrect. The race for the New World had only just begun, and the ambition of European nations to establish worldwide empires (beyond colonies in the New World) was still a couple centuries away. Eliminate (D).
7. B
At the close of this excerpt, Columbus states that the inhabitants of the island lack modern weapons. This is consistent with (B), the correct answer. Choice (A) is incorrect because it is irrelevant to the lack of iron technology. Choice (C) would not affect Columbus’s opinion of the matter of iron and weapons. Eliminate it. Finally, social classes are not germane to Columbus’s discussion of the technological limitations of the island’s inhabitants. Eliminate (D).
8. A
Columbus writes glowingly about the natural features of Hispania, noting that the island is “most fertile both for cultivation and for pasturage, and well adapted for constructing buildings.” This would indicate that Columbus is drawn to the natural resources. Choice (A) is correct. This would also contradict the idea that there is little use for further investigating the island. Eliminate (D). Columbus did not mention a conquest, but clearly did not seem too cautious of the less-armed natives of the island. Choice (B) is incorrect. Columbus does not allude to an alliance with the natives, so eliminate (C).
9. D
A tribute system, such as one described, is, by definition, a system in which independent countries or tribes acknowledge the supremacy of an autonomous ruler (in this case, the Chinese emperor) and send ambassadors to the city with gifts. Choice (D) is therefore correct. Qing China (the dynasty in charge when this passage was written) was pretty self-sufficient with a thriving economy. Eliminate (A). China’s Confucian tradition does indeed underlie the tribute system, though its place at the center is not the reason it demands tributes—its dominance in the region is. Choice (B) is incorrect. The same could be said for answer (D)—China’s scientific and technological developments are evidence of its dominance, but not the reason, in and of themselves, for China to demand tributes. Eliminate (C).
10. C
The author of the text requests only products of foreign countries, not items local to China. Therefore, it would appear that China was not reliant on anything that it could already acquire within its own borders. Choice (C) is correct. China had a successful agricultural economy during the Qing Dynasty, so (A) and (D) are incorrect. China did not attempt a command economy until the Communist takeover in 1949. Eliminate (B).
11. B
The tribute system was an indirect rule of vassal states that spread Chinese influence far and wide and brought religion, among other things, into China. Choice (B) is therefore correct. The exchange of goods through the tribute system was definitely not done on a basis of equality—in tribute systems, one side is dominant and the other side is compliant. Therefore, (A) is incorrect. The word “only” in (C) makes that answer too extreme. While Qing China closely regulated its outside contact (especially in the early years), it still participated in international commerce. Eliminate (C). The flow of goods and ideas throughout China and around Asia that arose due to the tribute system should be evidence of robust cultural interactions, not a stagnation. Eliminate (D).
12. A
During the Qing Dynasty, the Chinese did not aspire to conquer the rest of the world, or even interact with it very much. They stayed focused on China and its surrounding neighbors. The Manchus did trade with the Europeans and granted rights to the Portuguese, Dutch, and British, but they were vigilant about and successful at controlling trade relations through the mid-eighteenth century. The Manchus were fierce protectors of their culture. When they felt threatened by European advances, they expelled the Europeans. Choice (A) is therefore correct. Choice (B) can be eliminated because it contradicts this period of Chinese history. Choice (C) is an overly extreme version of the correct answer (China did maintain some contact with European powers). Eliminate it. Finally, since China stayed focused on its surrounding neighbors, it did not attempt to force distant countries into becoming its vassals. Eliminate (D).
13. C
Following the British putting an end to the Sepoy rebellion, the last of the Mughal rulers, Bahadur Shah II, was sent into exile, thereby ending the Mughal Empire for good. Choice (C) is correct. Since parliament took control of India from the East India Company, it cannot be said that the East India Company expanded its political power. Choice (A) is incorrect. Eliminate (B) as India was not liberated for nearly another century. This event was the end of the East India Company’s use of Sepoys, so (D) is incorrect.
14. D
To help administer the regions under its control, the East India Company relied on Sepoys, Indians who worked for the Brits, mainly as soldiers. Therefore, (D) is correct. Further, with the information that the Sepoys worked for the East India Company, be sure to also eliminate (B) and (C). While (A) is partially true, it can be eliminated because the Sepoys were not only Muslims, but also Hindus.
15. B
The author of the passage, a British citizen, not only describes the violent uprising of the Sepoys, but also how her servant’s husband attempted to protect the author’s family. While the Sepoys were in rebellion against their British occupiers, they also had personal allegiances to British citizens. Choice (B) is therefore correct. Choice (A) is incorrect because the British occupation of India did not occur for nearly another century. The power struggle between Muslims and Hindus did not occur until after Indian independence took place the follow century. Eliminate (C). The personal attachment that the author felt toward the Sepoys may make for an interesting account, though not an objective one. Eliminate (D).
16. B
In 1858, the British parliament stepped in to stop the mutiny, took control of India away from the East India Company, and made all of India a crown colony. Choice (B) is correct. Since the parliament took control of India, it cannot be said that they put more resources into defending the East India Company. Eliminate (A). The British deposed the Mughal emperor, so (C) is incorrect. Following the rebellion, the British Parliament only strengthened its hold over the Indian subcontinent, so eliminate (D).
17. D
Since the Sepoys worked for their oppressors, the Brits, try to look for a relationship in which a group is working for their oppressors. Choice (D) is the best response because the Janissaries were enslaved Christians in the service of the Ottoman Empire. Choices (A), (B), and (C) each describe a situation in which loyalty to leadership stems from a shared nationality. This is not the same as the relationship between the British and the Sepoys. Eliminate (A), (B), and (C).
18. A
The image displays a woman working an agricultural job, running over spoons, pots, and pans, symbols of the restrictive domestic life previously expected of women. The expansion of industry and agriculture in the 1920s and 1930s known as the Five Year Plan necessitated an increase in the labor force, hence the need for more women. Choice (A) correctly articulates the focus of the image. The government created the piece of propaganda for Russian civilian women, so the target was not the Soviet government nor foreign governments. Eliminate (B), (C), and (D).
19. A
Josef Stalin imposed his Five Year Plans, which called for expedient agricultural production by ruthlessly taking over private farms and combining them into state-owned enterprises, a process known as collectivization. To have enough labor, Stalin’s government used propaganda, such as the one in this question set, to promote opportunities for women to contribute. Choice (A) is therefore correct. The Great Purge refers to terror tactics, such as a secret police force, bogus trials, and assassinations, that Stalin used to get rid of his political opponents. This occurred a decade after the poster was created. Eliminate (B). The New Economic policy was the economic plan of Lenin that was in place before Stalin’s reign. Choice (C) is incorrect. The Russia Revolution occurred over a decade before this poster was created, as the Russians moved into a communist system. Therefore, it is not the historical context of this poster. Eliminate (D).
20. B
Many Russian farmers were reluctant to give up their private property. Untold numbers died fighting to protect their farms. Even more died in famines that resulted when Stalin usurped crops to feed government workers at the expense of the farmers themselves. Choice (B) is correct. As evidenced by a poster confining women to take on a place in the agricultural economy, women did not have traditional roles working farms at the time. Eliminate (A). Choice (C) is incorrect since the Soviet government is inviting women to participate in agricultural work during the Five Year Plan. Choice (D) is incorrect because the Five Year Plan was an attempt to expand both the agricultural and the industrial economies.
21. A
If a king boasts that he does not need to exact taxes (duties) in his kingdom, it means that his kingdom is rich. The passage discusses in large part Mali’s mineral wealth so eliminate answer choices that do not discuss mining: (B), (C), and (D). Choice (A) is the answer.
22. B
Mali’s position below the Sahara desert meant that it was not easy for outsiders to conquer. However, because it sat astride the north-south trade routes to the Mediterranean, it was definitely frequented by Muslim merchants. Eliminate (A) because the missionaries are coming from the wrong direction. Eliminate (C) because Berber tribes did not conquer Ghana. Eliminate (D) because Ethiopia and Mali were not rivals. Choice (B) is the best answer.
23. B
The discussion of copper and gold is in the middle of the passage in which Mansa Musa claims that Mali sells copper for gold. Choices (A), (C), and (D) do not mention trade in any way, so they can be eliminated for this reason. Choice (B) is correct.
24. B
The passage’s focus on international trade demonstrates how links between nations were still being developed but they were present. Therefore, you should be looking for an answer choice that involves international commerce. Choices (A), (C), and (D) are not related to this idea, so you can eliminate them and choose (B).
25. C
Crosby’s argument is essentially that Europe achieved a position of global hegemony by discovering and exploiting the New World. Eliminate (A) and (B) because they do not discuss the New World. Eliminate (D) because it does not explicitly refer to the settlement of the New World. Choice (C) is the best answer.
26. B
Only through the conquest or colonization of the New World, Crosby argues, was Europe able to achieve global hegemony. Choices (A), (C), and (D) do not involve the New World and therefore are not related to his argument. Eliminate those choices and choose (B).
27. C
Rely on the contextualization offered in this question: 1450–1750 C.E. Choices (A), (B), and (D) all largely occurred during 1450–1750, but since you’re looking for the choice that contributed the LEAST, choose (C), which developed a little after this time period.
28. B
The “quantum jump” in the passage refers to the Columbian Exchange and the settlement and conquest of the New World by Europeans. Choices (A) and (C) are historically false and can be eliminated. Choice (D) is a possible answer, but not as supportable as (B), which is the answer.
29. A
The Treaty of Tordesillas split the world and the territories discovered by Spain and Portugal in half. Eliminate (B) because the treaty mentions nothing about slaves. Eliminate (C) because the Scientific Revolution refers to a more systematized procedure for scientific discovery that the passage does not discuss. Eliminate (D) because the passage does not discuss Protestantism at all. Therefore, (A), European maritime exploration, is correct.
30. D
The Portuguese ensured that they would own the lands to the east of the demarcation line to maintain their hold on India. Eliminate (A) because Portugal knew that India was not the same land mass as the New World. Eliminate (B) because Portugal was not interested in waging war against the Mamelukes in Egypt. Finally, eliminate (C) because the Portuguese never expressed any imperial interest in Mexico. Choice (D) is the best answer.
31. B
The Spanish were interested in preserving their stranglehold over the whole of the New World. Eliminate (A) because the Barbary States would actually be east of the line. Eliminate (C), as the Spanish conquistadores ended up conquering the natives who were in their way. Eliminate (D) because the relative ease of conquest played very little role in the diplomatic negotiations for the Treaty of Tordesillas. You’re left with (B), which is the answer.
32. A
The treaty is a clear sign that monarchs were willing both to wage war and settle disputes over land exploration, which aligns with (A). Eliminate (B) because neither Portugal nor Spain used joint-stock companies in their colonization efforts. Eliminate (C) because the treaty does not discuss the trading implications with Africa. Eliminate (D) because the treaty makes no mention of formal scientific research, only exploration. Choice (A) is the answer.
33. B
The Treaty of Tordesillas principally involved negotiations over exploration, so eliminate technologies that did not help European navigation—namely (A), (C), and (D). Choice (B), the compass, is the only choice that is related to exploration, so it is the best answer.
34. C
Eliminate (A) because the passage does not state whether Chinese merchants dominated the East Asian trade networks. Eliminate (B) because the passage does not discuss the presence of Dutch ships in Japan. Finally, get rid of (D) because the passage does not discuss Jesuits. The first paragraph does relate to the idea of Europe’s participation in East Asian trade patterns, so (C) is the best answer.
35. D
New World silver powered the Chinese economy, as Spanish treasure galleons brought it over in massive quantities from Mexico, so (D) is correct. Eliminate (A) and (C), as Central Asia and the Middle East are not immediately recognizable as silver exporting regions. Choice (B) can be eliminated as well since the production of silver in Europe proper did not match that of the New World.
36. B
The Ming Dynasty in its later years tried to enact measures to control foreign merchants’ endeavors in China, as the last paragraph details the Ming Canton system. Eliminate (A) because it is not supported by the passage. Eliminate (C) because the system of controlling trade is clearly present in the passage, so the Ming had to have had some interest in it. Eliminate (D) because it conflates China with Japan’s later restriction of foreign merchants. Choice (B) is the answer.
37. A
The trade pattern in question is the acquisition of silver from India and Japan to purchase goods from China. Opium would eventually be a deal-breaker, as Chinese merchants and customers would come to crave the drug and pay silver for it! Eliminate (B), (C), and (D), as these developments did not nearly create a reversal of the balance of trade as much as the export of opium to China did.
38. C
The trade pattern in question is the acquisition of silver from India and Japan to purchase goods from China. The Japanese government under the Tokugawa Shogunate would close Japan off to all foreign merchants save the Dutch who had to operate under severe limitations, limiting the amount of silver that could be drawn out of Japan. Eliminate (A) because Russia’s eastward expansion made little impact on silver flows in East Asia. Eliminate (B) because the Portuguese never conquered India. Eliminate (D) because Spanish silver from Mexico strengthened the trade system more than weakened it. Choice (C) is correct.
39. A
The cable line ends in Egypt at the spot labeled Suez. This obviously invokes the Suez Canal, so (B), (C), and (D) can be eliminated on the basis that they do not mention the canal. Choice (A) is correct.
40. B
The telegraph allowed communications to travel over the world near instantly, bridging gaps that would have taken weeks or months to traverse and effectively “shrinking” the world. This also allowed empires to grow larger to accommodate their expanded reach. Eliminate (A); this is the opposite of what actually occurred. Eliminate (C) because common people used telegraphs just as often as governments. Eliminate (D) because only the most modern nations had access to the technology required to set up telegraph connections. Choice (B) is the answer.
41. B
The map focuses on the western end of the Indian Ocean, centering on Arabia. The period 600–1450 C.E. should strike you immediately as the era of Islam in Arabia. Eliminate any answer choices that do not pertain to Islam. Choices (A), (C), and (D) can be eliminated for this reason, so you’re left with (B), which is correct.
42. B
The Suez Canal in the west, India in the east, and the cable spanning the distance between the two should all remind you that the British were heavily involved in the Indian Ocean. Choices (A) and (D) do not support this idea, so eliminate them. Eliminate (C) as well; although the British navy was powerful, the British did not control the entire Indian Ocean area. Therefore, (B) is the answer.
43. D
The tables show the percentages of manufacturing out of the total economic output of several countries. Table 1 is from 1945, and it shows that no country had more than a quarter of its economy coming from manufacturing. Eliminate answer choices that are not supported by the table. Choice (A) can be eliminated, as the table does not present information about goods and their sources. Eliminate (B) because there is no information about North America in the tables. Eliminate (C) because the table does not present any data about trade with the United States.
44. C
The tables show the relative proportion of industry in the total economies of several Latin American states. Eliminate (A) because Latin American states by and large did not successfully industrialize in the twentieth century. Eliminate (B) because the tables do not contain any information related to governments or Cold War politics. Eliminate (D) because the tables do not suggest any sort of spread of industrial technology.
45. D
Choices (A) and (B) can be eliminated because the values for Argentina and Brazil are percentages, not actual quantities. Eliminate (C) because industrialization does not necessarily entail urbanization. Choice (D) is the correct answer.
46. A
Eliminate (B) because exploitation of precious metals in Mexico and Brazil would not alone explain the lack of industrialization in other Latin American countries. Eliminate (C) because the population losses suffered by the natives were made up by immigration from Europe and Africa. Eliminate (D) because the haciendas and provincial elites were very strong in Latin American society, not weak. The mercantilist policies followed by colonial powers, however, do explain why Latin American economies were under-industrialized, so (A) is the answer.
47. B
The passage discusses Mao’s plan to collectivize agriculture in China, which is mentioned in (B). Eliminate (A) because the passage doesn’t discuss political reforms. Eliminate (C) because the passage does not discuss industrialization. Finally, eliminate (D), as the passage does not advocate capitalism. The answer is (B).
48. A
You can eliminate (B) because collectivization does not involve globalization or corporations. Eliminate (C) because the collectivization regime in the speech actually damaged Chinese prestige, not Soviet prestige. You can also get rid of (D) because the collectivization program did not involve adoption of the Green Revolution. Therefore, (A) is the answer.
49. D
The “socialist transformation” described in the passage is the collectivization of farms that would eventually culminate in the Great Leap Forward. Eliminate (A), (B), and (C), as they do not discuss collectivization.
50. A
The collectivization program discussed in the source seeks to abolish private agricultural property, so eliminate answers that would retain it. Choices (C) and (D) both advocate capitalism, so eliminate them. Eliminate (B) as well because the ideals of the Enlightenment put forth by Robespierre are political, not economic, by nature. The answer is (A).
51. C
Mao’s hopes in the second to last sentence in the passage are that the peasantry will enjoy increased prosperity on account of his collectivization regime. Eliminate (A) because the special economic zones were introductions of capitalism into China. You can also eliminate (B) and (D), as the reforms in the passage are economic, not political. Choice (C) is the best answer.
52. B
The Ayatollah Khomeini made this speech at a time when much of the world had decolonized, yet formerly colonized countries faced a phenomenon known as neocolonialism. Iran was officially independent, though the United States aided in the 1953 coup d’état of the democratically elected prime minister and installed the shah, a man many Iranians saw as a tool of the West. Therefore, the context of the speech best aligns with (B). The Industrial Revolution occurred a couple centuries before this speech, so eliminate (A). Eliminate (C) because Free Trade Associations are not supported by the passage. Eliminate (D) because autarky, or the complete absence of foreign trade, is not supported by the passage.
53. D
The United States and Great Britain helped with the 1953 coup d’état, installing the shah as leader of Iran. Khomeini is referencing the United States’ continued support of the shah. Choice (D) is correct. Since Khomeini resented the American support for the shah, (A) is incorrect. Choice (B) is also incorrect, as the passage does not mention trade agreements. And (C) is incorrect since Khomeini connects the Iranian army with the United States, which would not gain the military approval from Khomeini.
54. A
Ultimately, the people of Iran rejected the shah (one of the governments) in favor of the theocracy represented by Ayatollah Khomeini. Choice (A) aligns with that event. The 1979 constitution was technically democratic, but that was not the purpose of the reform movement (an Islamic state was), and Iran has not had fair and open elections under this constitution. Eliminate (B). Choice (C) is incorrect, as the fallout of the 1979 revolution put the Ayatollah in power. The Iran-Iraq War did not begin until 1980, a year after one of the governments of Iran came to an end. Eliminate (D).
55. C
Khomeini espoused an Islamic state, first and foremost. Choice (C) is correct. Eliminate (A) because fascism was widely discredited in the years following World War II. Eliminate (B) because social Darwinism has little to do with economics at a fundamental level. Eliminate (D) because classical liberals believe the state should be involved in the economy as little as possible.
a) Your answer should discuss how the portrait reflects attempts made by the Ottoman Empire to reform itself along Western lines. A good response must include ONE reason of the following:
• Ottoman military defeats at the hands of European powers in the previous century
• Ottoman economic weakness and decline
• The weakness of the position of the sultan with respect to the Janissary corps or the Grand Viziers
• Ottoman technological backwardness with respect to Europe
b) A good response must include ONE discussion of Ottoman efforts to Westernize themselves as supported by the painting. Responses can discuss Mahmud’s military uniform or the Western column and draperies in the background as definite evidence of the acceptance of Western culture and art forms. Mahmud’s stylish fez indicates some Ottoman conservatism.
c) Your answer should discuss one of the many wars the Ottomans waged against European or Muslim powers in the time period. Responses may discuss the Ottoman wars against the Hapsburgs of Spain, Austria, or Portugal, Ottoman wars against Russia, Ottoman wars against Safavid Persia, or even the Ottoman alliance with France.
a) A good answer to this question must address the period from 1200 to 1600 and major developments within this period, accompanied by specific historical examples. A successful answer must include TWO of the following:
• Religion: Empires like the Ottoman, the Holy Roman Empire, and Mali all strongly relied on religion as a cohesive force and a way to legitimize the ruler in the eyes of the subjects.
• Conquest and Warfare: Empires like the Gunpowder Empires, the Mongols, the Aztecs, and many others relied on victory in war to build internal strength as well as legitimize the ruler in the eyes of the people.
• Trade and Commerce: The period saw the further formation of international trade routes and commerce. States like the Italian cities, the Hanseatic League, Ming China, and many others stimulated commerce, which inspired cultural golden ages and generally high levels of prosperity that kept people content.
• Technological Change: Technologies like gunpowder helped states, especially within Europe, strengthen their military power, while other technologies like the three-field system helped agricultural output grow.
b) Some examples of cross-cultural assimilation include the following. (Remember, you need to cite TWO examples.)
• Western Europe acquired new scientific and medical knowledge from Islamic civilizations during the late Middle Ages.
• New technologies entered Europe from the Islamic world through the Kingdom of Granada.
• The Mongols acquired Islamic scientific knowledge.
• The Silk Road continued to unify Asia and Europe in a robust trade system.
• The Swahili Coast became wealthy due to its participation in Indian Ocean trade.
A successful response to this question must address the fact that the two superpowers that emerged after World War II, the United States and the Soviet Union, not only vied for global domination, but also tried to pull the rest of the world into their standoff. Winston Churchill called the line between East and West the Iron Curtain because Western influence couldn’t penetrate it and Easterners were rarely allowed to go to the Western bloc.
a) Your answer should include TWO of the following:
• East Germany, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Romania, and Hungary became part of the Eastern bloc, also called the Soviet bloc or Soviet satellites. Yugoslavia was communist as well, but established its own path, having testy relations with Moscow. Western Europe, including Britain, France, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Norway, West Germany, and eventually Greece and Turkey, became part of the Western bloc.
• Under the Truman Doctrine of 1947, the United States explicitly stated that it would aid countries threatened by communist takeovers. This policy is known as containment, as in “containing” your enemy. To this end, the Western bloc formed a military alliance of mutual defense called NATO (the North Atlantic Treaty Organization). In response, the Eastern bloc formed a military alliance known as the Warsaw Pact.
• After Germany was defeated, the U.S.-Soviet struggle immediately influenced the chain of events. The U.S. promoted capitalism and variations on democracy. The Soviet Union promoted communism, which, as practiced by the Soviets at the time, also meant totalitarianism.
• Determined to protect its borders and ideology, the Soviet Union demanded that its neighboring states, places like Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria, be under its influence.
• In Germany in 1948, the French, British, and American regions merged into one, forming a democratic West Germany, while the Soviet Union’s region became East Germany.
b) Your answer should include ONE of the following:
• During the Cold War, the standard of living in Western Europe improved dramatically, despite economic swings. In Eastern Europe, behind the iron curtain, the massive state-run industries couldn’t keep up with the innovations in the West. A growing divide between the “rich” West and the “poor” East was becoming obvious, and as it became obvious to the people who lived within the Eastern bloc, they began to revolt.
• By the 1980s, an increasing number of people in the Eastern bloc countries that were controlled by the Soviet Union, such as Poland, were also itching for democratic and economic reform.
• The decline of communism in the Soviet bloc directly led to the reunification of Germany as a free-market democracy. East Germany cut ties with the Soviet Union and began negotiations with West Germany.
• The European Union or EU was formed.
a) You need to discuss ONE way European colonists developed and exploited the lands of the Americas. Possible topics would include the plantation colonies of the Caribbean, the English Thirteen Colonies, or the Portuguese colony of Brazil.
b) A successful response must discuss the violent relationship that marked certain European relationships with the natives of the New World. Possible topics would include the Spanish conquest of the Aztecs, Incans, and other such civilizations, the English wars against natives such as the Pequot War, or the eradication of native resistance in the Caribbean.
c) To successfully answer (c), you need to justify your answer to either (a) or (b), but add evidence beyond what is presented in (a) and (b), and explain how your examples typify European interaction with the natives of the New World.
A strong essay will discuss some of the various issues that Latin America confronted between the period 1875 and 1950 C.E., ranging from territorial disputes that resulted in all-out war between nations, as in Document 1; to European colonialism and American hegemony, as in Documents 3 and 7; to the agrarian nature of Latin American economies, as described in Documents 4, 5, and 6; to gender inequality, as described in Document 2. To earn the maximum number of points, you need to use only six of the seven documents. A strong essay will include discussion of global politics during the period—neocolonialism through commercial domination of Latin America, World Wars I and II, and the beginnings of the Cold War—and how these affected Latin America (or did not!). A good essay might therefore touch on Latin America’s lack of industrialization and make a claim that this comparative disadvantage in its economics led the region to geopolitical instability and maintained the strong plantation culture that had existed in the continent since its colonial days, with all its various disadvantages such as backbreaking labor, strong regional tendencies, and gender inequality. There is no one right answer, though, so long as your thesis is supported by the documents, you are on the right track!
A strong essay will discuss the Mongol Empire and its rise to prominence throughout Eurasia. It will also explain how the Mongols created the largest empire to date and impacted, in some capacity, every civilization that existed in Asia during the 11th through 13th centuries. Either way, decide for yourself how you might want to frame your argument about whether the rise of the Mongol Empire was a true turning point in world history.
An essay that contends that the Mongol Empire is an important development should discuss how Mongols destroyed cities and were ruthless warriors, but once their domain was established, the empire was relatively peaceful. The continuous empire allowed for the exchange of goods, ideas, and culture from one distant region to another.
Recall that there were two major consequences of Mongol rule: 1) Russia, which was conquered by the Golden Horde and treated as a vassal state, didn’t unify or culturally develop as quickly as its European neighbors to the west; and 2) that world trade, cultural diffusion, and global awareness grew.
An essay that seeks to downplay the importance of the Mongols would instead focus on the lack of interference in local customs under the Mongols. Such an essay would probably make the assertion that the practice of local religions under Mongol rule was tolerated and such customs continued on in the same way as if the Mongol Empire had never existed. Further, while the Mongols maintained the Silk Road and kept it secure, they certainly did not create it. Silk Road trade would likely have continued without Mongol governance.
A strong essay will discuss the Congress of Vienna in its historical context. The Congress of Vienna resolved that a balance of power should be maintained among the existing powers of Europe in order to avoid the rise of another Napoleon.
The leaders of the countries that had overthrown Napoleon met in Vienna to decide how to restore order (and their own power) in Europe. The principal members of the coalition against Napoleon were Prince von Metternich of Austria, Alexander I of Russia, and the Duke of Wellington of Britain. If you want to argue for the significance of the Congress of Vienna as a turning point, you may point out that while the Congress essentially tried to erase the whole French Revolution and Napoleon from the European consciousness and restore the royal order, it failed to address the very real concerns of those who believed in the initial causes for the French Revolution. The Congress took a conservative approach that ignored the increasing nationalist and liberal tendencies that were arising across Europe, and the bottling of those ideals eventually would come out in a wave of uprisings across the continent within the next few decades.
An argument contending that the Congress of Vienna was not an important moment in history would instead state that nothing had really changed from before the French Revolution: France’s borders were cut back to their pre-Napoleonic dimensions, but it was not punished militarily or economically. The Congress even reseated the monarchs of France, Spain, Holland, and the many Italian states. It could be argued that the revolutions of the 1820s–1840s throughout Europe were due to the Congress of Vienna’s inability to make any real change in Europe.
A strong essay will develop the historic context of the Berlin Conference before evaluating the importance of the event as a turning point. The Conference was called by Otto von Bismarck in order for the European powers to develop criteria for establishing colonies in Africa. The years following the conference saw European nations—Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal, and Belgium—carve up the African map into a series of colonies, with the exception of Liberia and Ethiopia.
An essay that argues the Berlin Conference was a turning point would point to the impact that colonial holdings had on the start of World War I. European tensions and the race for colonial holdings were exasperated by the meeting in Germany. Further, the imprecision with which colonial borders were created, in terms of the division of tribal lands, brought internal warfare to African nations. Finally, without control of its own natural resources, African economic development was stalled by the European colonial powers.
If one were to argue that the Berlin Conference were not a significant turning point, the essay would need to play up the inevitability of the colonization of Africa, with or without the Berlin Conference. Further, the essay would claim that the tensions that led to the First World War existed without the Berlin Conference. While this claim may be more difficult to argue, it is possible with appropriate analysis that claims how little the Berlin Conference altered the events that proceeded it due to their inevitability and myriad other factors at play.