VCE History Revolutions case studies

VCE History Revolutions · Put your knowledge to work in context.

VCE History Revolutions is a Victorian senior-secondary study in which students investigate two revolutions in depth, examining their origins, the ideas and conflicts that drove them, and the political and social orders they produced. It suits students who enjoy reading primary documents, weighing competing interpretations and building sustained written arguments rather than memorising timelines. The VCE History Revolutions case studies are 5 cases and about 3,481 words.

The Bread Queue and the Price of Blame

In a city of 210,000 people in 1788, the price of a four-pound loaf has risen from 9 sous to 14 sous over eighteen months. Wages for a journeyman mason have stayed at 20 sous a day, and he works roughly 250 days a year when weather and demand allow.

779 words, about 4 min 2

Two Historians, One Barricade

You are given two extracts about the same urban uprising in 1848. Extract A, published in 1952 by a historian writing for a labour movement press, argues that the barricades were 'the spontaneous expression of a class that had nothing to lose but its chains' and stresses the role of artisans and the unemployed.

689 words, about 3 min 3

Reform That Did Not Revolt

A kingdom of 8 million people experiences rapid change between 1850 and 1880. Railways expand from 200 km to 9,000 km; urban population rises from 12 per cent to 27 per cent; a literacy law raises male literacy from 40 per cent to 78 per cent; a parliament with a narrow franchise is widened twice, in 1867 and 1884.

634 words, about 3 min 4

The Decree That Outlived Its Author

A revolutionary government in 1793 abolishes feudal dues without compensation, imposes price controls on grain, and conscripts unmarried men into the army. Its price controls are enforced by local committees; hoarders face execution.

665 words, about 3 min 5

The Source That Testifies Against Itself

You are evaluating a memoir published in 1856 by a man who was a junior officer during a revolution in 1830. He describes a massacre of civilians by troops, gives a precise figure of 640 dead, and says he personally saw 'the general give the order with a wave of his hand'.

714 words, about 4 min