European and world history, c. 1789–1945
What this domain tests
The paper tests revolution, nationalism, industrialisation, imperialism, the two world wars and their peace settlements. Expect questions that ask you to weigh long-term and short-term causes and to compare consequences.
Core concepts
- French Revolution: fiscal crisis, social orders, 1789, constitutional monarchy, republic, Terror, and Napoleon’s reforms and conquests.
- Vienna settlement (1815): balance of power and conservatism, but nationalism and liberalism survived.
- Industrialisation: coal, iron, railways, urbanisation, class formation and the second industrial revolution.
- WWI: alliance blocs, Balkan nationalism and the July Crisis; Versailles (1919): war guilt, reparations and territorial losses.
Worked example
“Was the assassination at Sarajevo the cause of WWI?” A weak answer says yes. A strong answer calls it the trigger: Austria’s ultimatum to Serbia, Germany’s “blank cheque”, Russian mobilisation, the Schlieffen Plan and alliance commitments converted a local crisis into a European war. Long-term causes - imperial rivalry, arms races and Balkan instability - made escalation possible.
Traps
Single-cause explanations; saying Versailles “caused” Hitler without explaining German domestic politics and the Depression; confusing 1848 revolutions with 1917; ignoring colonial troops in both wars.