O Level History 2147 · Topic 3

Core content: Option A: past paper questions

296 real questionsasked in 10 of the last 10 exam series2020–2026usually: Explain, Describe, Use

Real questions on core content: option a

The newest 20 of 296 written questions. Open one to see it on the real paper.

2147/12 · May/June 2026 · Q1a[4]
What was the Roman Republic of 1848–49?
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2147/12 · May/June 2026 · Q1b[6]
Why was Napoleon III interested in Italy?
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2147/12 · May/June 2026 · Q1c[10]
‘The war of 1859 against Austria was the most important conflict in the struggle for Italian unification.’ How far do you agree with this statement? Explain your answer.
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2147/12 · May/June 2026 · Q2a[4]
What was the Frankfurt Parliament?
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2147/12 · May/June 2026 · Q2b[6]
Why was Prussia’s economic strength important in its relationship with other German states?
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2147/12 · May/June 2026 · Q2c[10]
Which was the greater achievement for Bismarck: the defeat of Austria in 1866 or the defeat of France in 1870–71? Explain your answer.
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2147/12 · May/June 2026 · Q3b[6]
Why was there widespread criticism of Leopold II’s rule of the Congo?
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2147/12 · May/June 2026 · Q3c[10]
Were the events in India in 1857 a mutiny by sepoys or a nationalist uprising? Explain your answer.
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2147/12 · May/June 2026 · Q4b[6]
Why did German imperialism create tension in Europe?
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2147/12 · May/June 2026 · Q4c[10]
Which was more important as a cause of the First World War: the Alliance System or the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand? Explain your answer. Option B: The twentieth century
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2147/13 · May/June 2026 · Q1a[4]
Describe the part played by Pope Pius IX in events in Italy in 1848.
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2147/13 · May/June 2026 · Q1b[6]
Why did the French National Assembly turn to Cavaignac in June 1848?
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2147/13 · May/June 2026 · Q1c[10]
Which was more important in the 1848 revolutions: liberalism or nationalism? Explain your answer.
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2147/13 · May/June 2026 · Q2a[4]
Describe the dispute over the Spanish Succession.
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2147/13 · May/June 2026 · Q2b[6]
Why did the Frankfurt Parliament fail?
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2147/13 · May/June 2026 · Q2c[10]
‘The Austro-Prussian War was the most important factor in bringing about the unification of Germany.’ How far do you agree with this statement? Explain your answer.
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2147/13 · May/June 2026 · Q3a[4]
Describe the events of the Spanish–American war of 1898.
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2147/13 · May/June 2026 · Q3b[6]
Why were changes made to British rule in India in the second half of the nineteenth century?
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2147/13 · May/June 2026 · Q3c[10]
‘The impact of European imperialism in Africa was the same whichever the colonial power was.’ How far do you agree with this statement? Explain your answer.
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2147/13 · May/June 2026 · Q4a[4]
What was the Algeciras Conference?
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What examiners said

A reasonable number of candidates were able to explain the big message of Source C– the tension between Germany and France, while many were able to explain sub-messages such as large navies were bringing © war closer. In a number of less successful responses, candidates did not engage with the cartoon at all and wrote a narrative of the Moroccan Crisis, while others thought that Britain was repre...
— Examiner report, October/November 2023, 2147/21 Q2 (Cambridge)

Most candidates were able to find key disagreements between Source D and Source E and use them to argue that Source E does make Source D surprising. Source D shows concerns about a possible German naval attack and worries about the lack of preparedness of British ships, while in Source E a British admiral boasts about the strength of the British navy and dismisses any possibility of war. However,...
— Examiner report, October/November 2023, 2147/21 Q3 (Cambridge)

The better answers to this question attempted to evaluate Tirpitz’s account. This was best done by considering Tirpitz’s possible purpose, for example to distance himself from German actions and to try and protect his own reputation. This needed to be supported by reference to the contents of the source. Some candidates cross-referenced to other sources to check his claims. However, some candidate...
— Examiner report, October/November 2023, 2147/21 Q5 (Cambridge)

Practise this topic

Answer these questions online and get each one marked against the official mark scheme, with what you missed and how to fix it.

Practise core content: option a

In the syllabus

3.1 Were the revolutions of 1848 important?

Why had liberalism and nationalism grown in influence by 1848?.
Why were there so many revolutions in 1848?.
Did the revolutions have anything in common?.
Why did most of the revolutions fail?.
Did the revolutions change anything?.
The nature of revolutions in 1848 and the influence of liberalism and nationalism.
Causes, events and results of revolutions in:; France; Italy; Germany; the Austrian Empire.
Reasons for the failure of the revolutions.

3.2 How was Italy unified?

Why was Italy not unified in 1848–49?.
How important was Garibaldi’s contribution to unifying Italy?.
Did Cavour help or hinder the unification of Italy?.
How important for other European countries were moves towards Italian unification?.
Austrian influence over Italy.
Italian nationalism and the role of Mazzini.
Events of 1848–49.
Victor Emmanuel II and Cavour: the agreement of Plombières, war with Austria in 1859.
Garibaldi and the invasion of Sicily and Naples.
The creation of the Kingdom of Italy, completion of unification by 1870.

3.3 How was Germany unified?

Why was Germany not unified in 1848–50?.
How did Bismarck bring about Austria’s defeat of 1866?.
How did Bismarck bring about France’s defeat of 1870?.
How far was Bismarck responsible for the unification of Germany?.
German nationalism.
The Zollverein.
The 1848 revolution in Prussia.
The setting up and eventual failure of the Frankfurt Parliament.
Re-establishment of Austrian influence in Germany by 1850.
Bismarck as Prussian Minister–President.
Bismarck’s foreign policy to 1871:; Schleswig-Holstein; the Austro–Prussian War and its consequences; relations with France; the Spanish Succession and the Franco–Prussian War; the creation of the German empire.

3.4 Why was there a civil war in the United States and what were its results?

How far did slavery cause the Civil War?.
What was the significance of Lincoln’s election as president?.
Why was the North able to win the war?.
Did the war change anything?.
Causes and consequences of the American Civil War, 1820–77:; differences between North and South; slavery, slave states and free states, abolitionism; the 1860 election and secession of the Southern states; reasons for the North’s victory and the South’s defeat; the role of Lincoln; reconstruction and the extent of its success.

3.5 Why, and with what effects, did nations gain and expand their overseas empires in the nineteenth century?

What were the motives behind European and US imperialism?.
How varied were the impacts of European imperialism on Africans?.
Why, and with what effects, did Indians resist British rule?.
Why, and with what effects, did the United States gain former Spanish colonies?.
Reasons for imperialism: economic, military, geopolitical, religious and cultural motives.
Europeans in Africa: case studies of French, British and Belgian imperialism, and their impacts on Africans:; the French model of assimilation and direct rule; Faidherbe and Senegal; the British model of indirect rule; Lugard and Nigeria; the Belgians and private imperialism; Leopold II and the Congo.
The British in India: the events of 1857 and the changes they brought to British rule.
Wars of independence in the Philippines and Cuba, the Spanish–American War and the Treaty of Paris:; the debate in the USA over US imperialism; the Philippines; consequences of American control on the Filipinos; American intervention in Cuba to 1906.

3.6 What caused the First World War?

Did the Alliance System and global diplomacy make war more likely or less likely?.
How far did colonial problems create tensions between the Great Powers?.
Why were problems in the Balkans so difficult for the Great Powers to solve?.
How did the assassination of Franz Ferdinand lead to war?.
The origins of the First World War, 1890–1914:; the Alliance System and the European diplomatic system; the 1902 Anglo–Japanese Alliance; the arms race; colonial rivalries; developments in the Balkans; the crisis of June–July 1914 and the outbreak of war.

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