IBDP History: Study Guide and Notes – New Syllabus 2017-2025 -HLSL Paper 1

IBDP History- Syllabus content -Prescribed subjects

IBDP History- Prescribed subject 1: Military leaders

This prescribed subject focuses on two well-known medieval military leaders, the Mongol leader Genghis Khan and Richard I of England, and on their impact.

The first case study focuses on Genghis Khan and the expansion of the Mongol Empire in the early 13th century. The second case study focuses on Richard I of England, from his revolt against his father, Henry II, in 1173 until his death in 1199.

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

IBDP History- Prescribed subject 2: Conquest and its impact

This prescribed subject focuses on Spanish conquest.

The first case study explores the final stages of Muslim rule in the Iberian peninsula. It focuses on the fall of Granada in 1492—the last Islamic state
on the peninsula. The second case study focuses on the creation of Spain’s Empire in Latin America through the conquest of Mexico and Peru.

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

IBDP History- Prescribed subject 3: The move to global war

This prescribed subject focuses on military expansion from 1931 to 1941

The first case study explores Japanese expansionism from 1931 to 1941 and the second case study explores German and Italian expansionism from 1933 to 1940.

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)

IBDP History- Prescribed subject 4: Rights and protest

This prescribed subject focuses on struggles for rights and freedoms in the mid-20th century.

The first case study explores the civil rights movement in the US between 1954 and the passing of the Voting Rights Act in 1965.

The second case study explores protests against apartheid in South Africa. It focuses specifically on the years 1948–1964, beginning with the election of the National Party in 1948 and ending with the imprisonment of Nelson Mandela and his co-defendants following the Rivonia trial in 1964.

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”)

IBDP History- Prescribed subject 5: Conflict and intervention

This prescribed subject focuses on conflict and intervention in the late 20th century.

The first case study focuses on the genocide in Rwanda in 1994, beginning with the outbreak of civil war in Rwanda in 1990 and ending with the establishment of the International Criminal Court in 1998.

The second case study focuses on events surrounding the war in Kosovo from 1998–1999, beginning with the escalating ethnic tensions in Kosovo from 1989 onwards, through to the elections of 2002.

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
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