World History: Revolutions, Wars and Global Order
World History in this syllabus focuses on the Renaissance and Reformation, the French Revolution, the Industrial Revolution, the Russian Revolution, the two world wars and the Cold War. The exam asks for causes, consequences, institutions and chronological links rather than isolated names.
Major transitions
- Renaissance: humanism, classical revival, printing (Gutenberg, c. 1450), Copernicus’s heliocentric work (1543).
- Reformation: Luther’s 95 Theses (1517), Calvin in Geneva, Counter-Reformation; Peace of Augsburg (1555) allowed princely choice.
- French Revolution: Estates-General (1789), Bastille (14 July 1789), Declaration of the Rights of Man, republic (1792), Terror (1793–94), Napoleon’s rise.
- Industrial Revolution: began in Britain; steam power, factories, urbanisation, railway expansion.
- World wars: WWI 1914–18, Versailles 1919, League of Nations 1920; WWII 1939–45.
- Russian Revolution 1917; Cold War blocs: NATO (1949) and Warsaw Pact (1955).
Worked example
Question: “Why did the League of Nations fail to prevent the Second World War?” Reasoning: the USA never joined; the League lacked an armed force; major powers bypassed it (Japan in Manchuria, Italy in Ethiopia); appeasement and the Depression weakened collective security. The answer must link institutional weakness to great-power behaviour, not just list events.
Traps
Do not confuse the French Revolution’s causes with its immediate triggers; do not date the Industrial Revolution to the 20th century; do not say the League had US membership; and keep WWI and WWII settlement terms separate.