AS LEVEL

Specification

HISTORY A
H105
For first assessment in 2016 ocr.org.uk/alevelhistorya We will inform centres about any changes to the specification. We will also publish changes on our website. The latest version of our specification will always be the one on our website (ocr.org.uk) and this may differ from printed versions.
Copyright © 2014 OCR. All rights reserved.
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However, registered centres for OCR are permitted to copy material from this specification booklet for their own internal use.
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Contents
Introducing… AS Level History A (from September 2015)
Teaching and learning resources

iv

Why choose an OCR AS Level in History A?

1

1a.

Why choose an OCR qualification?

1

1b.

Why choose an OCR AS Level in History A?

2

1c.

What are the key features of this specification?

3

1d.

2

iii

Professional Development

1

ii

How do I find out more information?

3
4

2a.

Overview of AS Level in History A (H105)

4

2b.

Content of AS Level in History A (H105)

5

2c.

Content of unit group 1: British period study and enquiry
(Units Y131 to Y143)

8

2c.

Content of unit group 2: Non-British period study (Units Y231 to Y254)

33

2d.

3

The specification overview

Prior learning and progression

60
61

3a.

Forms of assessment

61

3b.

Assessment objectives (AOs)

61

3c.

Assessment availability

62

3d.

Retaking the qualification

62

3e.

Assessment of extended response

62

3f.

Synoptic assessment

62

3g.

4

Assessment of OCR AS Level in History A

Calculating qualification results

62

Admin: what you need to know

63

4a. Pre-assessment

63

4b.

Accessibility and special consideration

63

4c.

External assessment arrangements

64

4d.

Results and certificates

64

4e.

Post-results services

64

4f.

Malpractice

65

5 Appendices

66

5a.

Grade descriptors

66

5b.

Overlap with other qualifications

66

5c.

Avoidance of bias

66

5d.

Examples of routes through the specification

66

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AS Level in History A

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Introducing…
AS Level History A (from September 2015)
Our AS Level History A specification provides a fantastic curriculum for your students to ignite and engage their passions and interests. We’ve never thought that there’s any one ‘correct’ approach to History as a subject. It’s too valuable and simply too massive to be limited to a mere handful of approved options.
As there is no core content in History, our vision is to allow you to have as much professional freedom as possible to approach the subject in your chosen valid way. This means your students will:
••

Study the history of more than one country or state in addition to the study of
British history

••

We have a dedicated team of people working on our
AS Level History qualifications.
Find out more about our History team at ocr.org.uk/historyteam If you need specialist advice, guidance or support, get in touch:
••

01223 553998

••

history@ocr.org.uk

••

@OCR History

Undertake a thematic study, covering an extended period of history of approximately 100 years

••

Meet the team

Explore a topic in history they have an interest in through the coursework element. Our aim is to create independent learners, critical thinkers and decision-makers – all personal assets that can make them stand out as they progress to higher education and/or the workplace

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AS Level in History A

Teaching and learning resources
We recognise that the introduction of a new specification can bring challenges for implementation and teaching. Our aim is to help you at every stage and we’re working hard to provide a practical package of support in close consultation with teachers and other experts, so we can help you to make the change.
Designed to support progression for all
Our resources are designed to provide you with a range of teaching activities and suggestions so you can select the best approach for your particular students.
You are the experts on how your students learn and our aim is to support you in the best way we can.
We want to…
••

Support you with a body of knowledge that grows throughout the lifetime of the specification ••

Provide you with a range of suggestions so you can select the best activity, approach or context for your particular students

••

Make it easier for you to explore and interact with our resource materials, in particular to develop your own schemes of work

••

Create an ongoing conversation so we can develop materials that work for you.

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AS Level in History A

Plenty of useful resources
You’ll have four main types of subject-specific teaching and learning resources at your fingertips:
••

Delivery Guides

••

Transition Guides

••

Topic Exploration Packs

••

Lesson elements.

Along with subject-specific resources, you’ll also have access to a selection of generic resources that focus on skills development and professional guidance for teachers. Skills Guides – we’ve produced a set of Skills Guides that are not specific to History, but each covers a topic that could be relevant to a range of qualifications – for example, communication, legislation and research.
Download the guides at ocr.org.uk/skillsguides.
Active Results – a free online results analysis service to help you review the performance of individual students or your whole school. It provides access to detailed results data, enabling more comprehensive analysis of results in order to give you a more accurate measurement of the achievements of your centre and individual students. For more details refer to ocr.org.uk/activeresults iii

Professional Development
Take advantage of our improved Professional
Development Programme, designed with you in mind.
Whether you want to come to face-to-face events, look at our new digital training or search for training materials, you can find what you’re looking for all in one place at the CPD Hub.
An introduction to the new specifications

These events are designed to help prepare you for first teaching and to support your delivery at every stage.
Watch out for details at cpdhub.ocr.org.uk.
To receive the latest information about the training we’ll be offering please register for GCSE email updates at ocr.org.uk/updates.

We’ll be running events to help you get to grips with our AS Level History A qualification.

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AS Level in History A

1 Why choose an OCR AS Level in History A?
1a. Why choose an OCR qualification?
Choose OCR and you’ve got the reassurance that you’re working with one of the UK’s leading awarding bodies. Our new AS Level in History A course has been developed in consultation with teachers, employers and higher education to provide students with a qualification that’s relevant to them and meets their needs. ••

We’re part of the Cambridge Assessment Group,
Europe’s largest assessment agency and a department of the University of Cambridge. Cambridge Assessment plays a leading role in developing and delivering assessments throughout the world, operating in over
150 countries.

••

Access to subject specialists to support you through the transition and throughout the lifetimes of the specifications.

••

CPD/Training for teachers including face-toface events to introduce the qualifications and prepare you for first teaching.

••

Active Results – our free results analysis service to help you review the performance of individual students or whole schools.

••

ExamCreator – our new online past papers service that enables you to build your own test papers from past OCR exam questions.

We work with a range of education providers, including schools, colleges, workplaces and other institutions in both the public and private sectors. Over 13,000 centres choose our A levels, GCSEs and vocational qualifications including Cambridge Nationals,
Cambridge Technicals and Cambridge Progression.
Our Specifications
We believe in developing specifications that help you bring the subject to life and inspire your students to achieve more.

A wide range of high-quality creative resources including: o Delivery Guides o Transition Guides o Topic Exploration Packs o Lesson Elements o …and much more.

1

All AS level qualifications offered by OCR are accredited by Ofqual, the Regulator for qualifications offered in
England. The accreditation number for OCR’s AS Level in History A is (QN: 601/4843/3).

We’ve created teacher-friendly specifications based on extensive research and engagement with the teaching community. They’re designed to be straightforward and accessible so that you can tailor the delivery of the course to suit your needs. We aim to encourage learners to become responsible for their own learning, confident in discussing ideas, innovative and engaged.
We provide a range of support services designed to help you at every stage, from preparation through to the delivery of our specifications. This includes:

© OCR 2014
AS Level in History A

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1b. Why choose an OCR AS Level in History A?

1

OCR AS Level in History A consists of two externally assessed units, each with a wide and attractive range of content options.
It is our strong desire to ensure that OCR History should captivate the learner and develop a desire within them to continue learning beyond the confines of the classroom.
OCR’s AS Level in History A provides a fantastic curriculum to ignite and engage learners’ passions and interests. Our content will create independent learners, critical thinkers and decision-makers. These personal skills will make them stand out as they progress to higher education and/or the workplace.
OCR have never thought that there is any one ‘correct’ approach to history as a subject. History is too valuable, and simply too massive – not to mention too controversial – to be limited to a mere handful of approved options. There is no core content in history, and our view is that the logical extension of this is that teachers should have as much professional freedom as possible to approach the subject in their chosen valid way. This specification provides that freedom.
Centres should have the opportunity to deliver the history of pre-colonial non-western civilisations and peoples, for example, as well as British and European history, and should be able to do so with confidence, and so topics are included to encourage centres to look beyond the most commonly taught areas of history.

••

communication – the ability to discuss key issues verbally and written down is vital to any future success. Historians use this skill daily and so university and employers will value someone who can articulate their thoughts and those of the business in a clear and professional way

••

time management – the skill of prioritising work is very important. By working through the questions, an AS level Historian will have effectively developed this

••

ICT – historians will develop their skills in history, from using simple word processors through to scouring the web for that vital piece of information that an essay just can’t do without

••

working with others – history can help develop this through class room activities

••

problem–solving – history is full of problems that need solving, the skills used to solve historical conundrums are the same as those used to solve real life issues

••

planning and organising – history teaches learners how to plan effectively to complete any tasks ••

drive and determination – any successful
A level learner will have shown the drive and determination to succeed in gaining knowledge and acquiring skills.

OCR’s AS Level in History A has been designed to emphasise knowledge and argument, and to encompass a large range of traditional and new optional topics.
••

research – a key aspect of any history course is to develop research skills

••

independence – being able to work on your own to complete tasks

••

analysis – any historian must be able to take and understand information before applying it to solve a puzzle

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AS Level in History A

1c. What are the key features of this specification?
Here are some of the key features of OCR’s AS Level in
History A for you and your learners:

••

our Specification Creator tool which will enable you to create a bespoke course

••

a straightforward specification with detailed guidance to support delivery

••

improved support, resources and more teacher guidance. ••

a wide range of content options to meet your centre’s expertise, maximising your opportunity to create the most appropriate course for you and your students

The AS specification in AS Level History A encourages learners to be inspired, motivated and challenged by following a broad, coherent, practical, satisfying and worthwhile course of study.

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1d. How do I find out more information?
If you are already using OCR specifications you can contact us at: www.ocr.org.uk
If not already registered you can find out more information on the benefits of becoming one at: www.ocr.org.uk If you are not yet an approved centre and would like to become one go to: www.ocr.org.uk

Want to find out more?
Ask our subject specialists.
Email: history@ocr.org.uk
Telephone: 01223 553998
Join our History community: http://social.ocr.org.uk/groups/history Sign up for the e-bulletin: www.ocr.org.uk/updates

© OCR 2014
AS Level in History A

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2 The specification overview
2a. Overview of AS Level in History A (H105)
Learners must take one unit from each of unit groups 1 and 2.

Content Overview
British period study and enquiry
(unit group 1)*
Learners study one of the 13 units available, each of which constitutes a substantial and coherent element of British History.
The Enquiry is a source-based study which immediately precedes or follows the outline period study.

2

Non-British period study
(unit group 2)*
Learners study one of the 24 units available, each of which constitutes a coherent period of non-British
History.
Learners will also analyse and evaluate historians’ interpretations of aspects of the course they have studied. Assessment Overview

British period study and enquiry
(Y131-Y143)
50 Marks
1 hour 30 minutes paper Non-British period study
(Y231-Y254)
50 marks
1 hour 30 minutes paper 50% of total
AS

50% of total
AS

* Indicates synoptic assessment

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AS Level in History A

2b. Content of AS Level in History A (H105)
OCR’s AS Level in History A will encourage learners to:
••

develop their interest in and enthusiasm for history and an understanding of its intrinsic value and significance

••

acquire an understanding of different identities within society and an appreciation of aspects such as social, cultural, religious and ethnic diversity, as appropriate

••

build on their understanding of the past through experiencing a broad and balanced course of study ••

develop the ability to ask relevant and significant questions about the past and to research them

••

acquire an understanding of the nature of historical study, for example that history is concerned with judgements based on available evidence and that historical judgements are provisional ••

develop their use and understanding of historical terms, concepts and skills

••

make links and draw comparisons within and/or across different periods and aspects of the past

••

organise and communicate their historical knowledge and understanding in different ways, arguing a case and reaching substantiated judgement. Centres have a free choice over how to combine units in order to maximise the potential to exploit interest, expertise and resources. Coherence can be achieved in different ways, but is guaranteed by the nature of the two different units, the different emphases and approaches and content which collectively engender an understanding of the nature and purpose of history as a discipline: o improve as effective and independent learners and as critical and reflective thinkers with curious and enquiring minds

••

Ensuring course coherence

In AS History A learners must take one unit from unit group 1 and one unit from unit group 2. There are no prohibited combinations at AS Level. Restrictions will apply at A Level, and so unit choice at AS may have implications for those studying this qualification in one year and then continuing in their second year of study in order to complete an A Level. In order to check valid combinations at A Level, centres must use the Specification Creator tool on the OCR website. Use of the Specification Creator tool before learners begin to study the A Level course is mandatory in order to ensure that the rules of combination are met.

© OCR 2014
AS Level in History A

o

in unit group 1 a source-based enquiry either sets up or concludes a period study, developing different approaches, but collectively constituting a substantial and coherent element of English or British
History
in unit group 2 non-British History is studied, with an emphasis on use of knowledge and understanding and judgement. This part of the course also introduces learners to historical interpretations and ensures that they will become used to analysing and evaluating different views of the past.

The qualification can be constructed through associations including, but not limited to, those based on chronology, theme (e.g. warfare, religion, conquest/ expansion, empire, rebellion/unrest, nation building), geography or diversity. Appendix 5d provides examples of coherent routes through this specification.
All units must be taken in the same series as 100% terminal rule applies.
The following pages list the units available in each unit group. Learners must choose one unit from each unit group.

5

2

Unit group Group title Unit entry code
Y131

2

Y132

Y133

British period study and enquiry

Unit group 1

Y134

Y135

Y136

Y137

Y138

Y139

Y140

Y141

Y142

Y143

Title
Alfred and the Making of England 871–1016
(Enquiry topic: Alfred the Great)
Anglo-Saxon England and the Norman Conquest 1035–1107
(Enquiry topic: Norman England 1087–1107)
England 1199–1272
(Enquiry topic: King John 1199–1216)
England 1377–1455
(Enquiry topic: Richard II 1377–1399)
England 1445–1509: Lancastrians, Yorkists and Henry VII
(Enquiry topic: Wars of the Roses 1445–1461)
England 1485–1558: the Early Tudors
(Enquiry topic: Mid Tudor Crises 1547–1558)
England 1547–1603: the Later Tudors
(Enquiry topic: Mid Tudor Crises 1547–1558)
The Early Stuarts and the Origins of the Civil War 1603–1660
(Enquiry topic: The Execution of Charles I and the Interregnum 1646–1660)
The Making of Georgian Britain 1678–c.1760
(Enquiry topic: The Glorious Revolution 1678–1689)
From Pitt to Peel: Britain 1783–1853
(Enquiry topic: Peel and the Age of Reform 1832–1853)
Liberals, Conservatives and the Rise of Labour 1846–1918
(Enquiry topic: England and a New Century c.1900–1918)
Britain 1900–1951
(Enquiry topic: England and a New Century c.1900–1918)
Britain 1930–1997
(Enquiry topic: Churchill 1930–1951)

All units in unit group 1, British period study and enquiry, are externally assessed (written papers)

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AS Level in History A

Unit group Group title Unit entry code

Title

Charlemagne 768–814

Y233

The Crusades and the Crusader States 1095–1192

Y234

Genghis Khan and the Explosion from the Steppes c.1167–1405

Y235

Exploration, Encounters and Empire 1445–1570

Y236

Spain 1469–1556

Y237

The German Reformation and the rule of Charles V 1500–1559

Y238

Philip II 1556–1598

Y239

African Kingdoms c.1400–c.1800: four case studies

Y240

Russia 1645–1741

Y241

The Rise and Decline of the Mughal Empire in India 1526–1739

Y242

The American Revolution 1740–1796

Y243

The French Revolution and the rule of Napoleon 1774–1815

Y244

France 1814–1870

Y245

Italy and Unification 1789–1896

Y246

The USA in the 19th Century: Westward expansion and Civil War 1803–c.1890

Y247

Japan 1853–1937

Y248

International Relations 1890–1941

Y249

Russia 1894–1941

Y250

Italy 1896–1943

Y251

Democracy and Dictatorships in Germany 1919–1963

Y252

The Cold War in Asia 1945–1993

Y253

The Cold War in Europe 1941–1995

Y254

Non-British period study

The Rise of Islam c.550–750

Y232

Unit group 2

Y231

Apartheid and Reconciliation: South African Politics 1948–1999

2

All units in unit group 2, Non-British period study, are externally assessed (written papers)
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AS Level in History A

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2c. Content of unit group 1: British period study and enquiry
(Units Y131 to Y143)
Introduction to unit group 1: British period study and enquiry 2

Centres should choose one unit from the thirteen available in unit group 1.
Each unit has two elements: a Period Study and an
Enquiry. The Enquiry element either precedes or continues the Period Study element so as to provide increased coherence and coverage of the chosen period of British history.
The Period Study element of the unit group is assessed by essays, which will allow learners to develop their use and understanding of historical terms, concepts and skills. The length of the periods studied will encourage learners to develop their interest in, and understanding of, important developments. The topics available in the unit in this group will also enable learners to ask significant questions about important issues. They are sufficiently broad and balanced to ensure both coherence and variety and have sufficient chronological range to provide for the study of continuity and change, which allows analysis of causes and consequences within the periods.
The addition of the Enquiry element to either the beginning or end of the period will ensure that learners do not have a borehole approach to their study, but will be able to see change and developments, and make substantiated judgements, over a substantial length of time, so that they can see issues in a wider perspective. The Enquiry topic areas include the study of significant individuals, societies, events and issues. They also include a range of different historical perspectives, for example aesthetic, cultural, economic, ethnic, political, religious, scientific, social and technological.

appropriate knowledge and communicate this clearly and effectively. Learners will be expected to demonstrate abilities to explain, assess, analyse and consider the relationships between key features of the period studied in order to reach substantiated judgements. In the Enquiry element, the focus will be on the critical use of evidence in investigating and assessing historical questions, problems and issues. The link with the
Period Study will make it easier for teachers to provide the historical background, context and awareness of how their unit is located within the longer term developments of the topic. The focus of the questions may be on depth of one Key topic or breadth, using parts of several key topics for the evaluation of a theme. Each Enquiry topic is of sufficient length to provide a coherent and worthwhile study within the overall period. Each provides a range of perspectives affecting individuals, societies and groups and will enable learners to analyse and evaluate different interpretations and representations of the past through contemporary perspectives. The critical evaluation of sources will be central to this element, with all marks awarded against AO2.
The sources selected for examination will be a range of types of written sources, contemporary to the period.
Learners will always have to analyse and evaluate three sources, answering both questions which set the sources in their historical context. The complexity of this task thus represents differentation from A level, where more sources are analysed and longer-answer questions are set. Sources will be fully attributed, and only edited for accessibility. Learners’ knowledge of the historical context will only be credited in so far as it is used to analyse and evaluate the sources in relation to the question set.

The nature of the examination will require learners to demonstrate an understanding of the key historical terms and concepts relevant to the period studied.
The questions relating to the Period Study element will require learners to recall, select and deploy

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AS Level in History A

Unit Y131: Alfred and the Making of England 871–1016
Enquiry Topic: Alfred the Great
Key Topics

Content
Learners should have studied the following:

Alfred and the Vikings

Alfred’s position in 871; the defence of Wessex; the threat of the Great Heathen Army (865–878), Alfred’s refuge at Athelney and defeat of the Great Heathen Army, terms of peace, the capture of London (886); reorganisation of the army and navy; reasons for and extent of military success (leadership, strategy, tactics, resources – reorganisation of the army and navy, logistics, chance); return of the Vikings in the 890s.

Alfred and the governance of England

Administrative reforms and establishment of unity in Alfred’s territory; the creation of burhs (origins, functions, growth, consequences); the Burghal Hidage, examples of burhs including Winchester, Oxford, Chichester and Wareham; the links between burhs and local economies; Alfred’s law code;
England at the time of Alfred’s death; Alfred as ‘King of the
English’.

The revival of literacy and learning: the
Alfredian Renaissance

2

Court intellectuals and the programme for learning; the connection between learning, religion and defeat of the
Vikings; the role of writings and translations (including Bede’s
Ecclesiastical History); the role of Asser; Latin education for priests; the use of literature as propaganda.

© OCR 2014
AS Level in History A

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British Period Study: The making of England 899–1016
Key Topics

Content
Learners should have studied the following:

Edward the Elder 899–924

The avoidance of dynastic feuds; the challenge of Scandinavian settlement and migration from Denmark; the campaigns of
Edward and Aethelflaed (the ‘conquest of the Danelaw’); the
‘submission’ of the Welsh kings (918), the Scottish king (923) and Raegnald (920); the threat of the Norwegians from Ireland
(including Raegnald); the extent of Edward’s power in 924.

Athelstan 924–939

The capture of York 927; relations with Scotland (including the battle of Brunanburh 937); continued problems with the
Vikings; connections with the Continent (including Flanders,
France, Germany and Norway); government and administration
(role of magnates and ealdorman; changes in the nature of the court and royal council); Athelstan’s legal codes (II and VI).

Edmund 939–946, Eadred 946–955 and
Edgar 957–975

The return of the Vikings (including Olaf Guthfrithson as King of York); the recovery of the northern Danelaw; the taking of Strathclyde; Edmund as liberator of the Danes; Eadred’s struggles with Eric Bloodaxe and Olaf Sihtricson and Eadred’s invasion of Northumbria; Edgar’s reforms: legal codes, charters, the role of the Witan, improvements in local government and administration, coinage; Edgar’s patronage of new monasteries and monastic reform, developments in Church art and architecture; Edgar’s coronation as King of all England 973.

Aethelred 978–1016

The crisis over the new monasticism; the murder of Edward the
Martyr (978); the return of the Vikings: the influence of Danish royalty, the treaty of 991 with Richard, Duke of Normandy, the battle of Maldon, tribute, divisions within the English nobility, the role of Viking leaders (including Sweyn, Thorkell and Cnut); the legislation of Aethelred (including the ‘10’ legal codes, monetary law, the role of the ‘jury’); cultural developments
(including the Church and education, the roles of Wulfstan and
Aelfric, Aethelweard’s translation of the Chronicle).

2

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AS Level in History A

Unit Y132: Anglo-Saxon England and the Norman Conquest 1035–1107
British Period Study: Anglo-Saxon England and the Norman Conquest 1035–1087
Key Topics

Content
Learners should have studied the following:

Anglo-Saxon England 1035–1066

England in 1035; the consequences of Cnut’s death (1035); instability resulting from the continuation of Danish influence
(Harold I 1035–1040 and Harthacnut, 1040–1042); Edward’s upbringing, the problems he faced and leadership qualities;
Edward’s policies (taxation, law and order, government and administration, military organisation); Edward’s Norman connections; the importance of the Godwin family (Earl
Godwin, Edward’s marriage to Edith, the crisis of 1051–1052,
Harold Godwinson and his brothers); the succession crisis including the claim of Harald Hardrada.

2

William of Normandy’s Invasion and the
Battle of Hastings 1066

William of Normandy’s invasion preparations; Hardrada’s invasion, Fulford Gate and the Battle of Stamford Bridge; the Norman landings in Hastings and Harold’s response; the course and outcome of the Battle of Hastings; reasons for
William’s victory (leadership skills, strategy, tactics, resources, logistics, chance); William’s march through the south; William’s coronation. William I and the consolidation of power

William’s departure in 1067; the imposition of Norman rule; the suppression of rebellions (including, Exeter 1067, Edwin and
Morcar 1068 and the North 1069–1070 Hereward the Wake); the Harrying of the North; castle building (motives, techniques, effectiveness); the establishment of and challenges from a new elite; threats from Scotland, Norway.

William I and the government and administration of England

Change and continuity in government and administration during the reign of William I; the fate of Anglo-Saxon earls; the role of
Norman barons and knights; relations between the crown and the Church; military organisation; change in urban and rural areas; Domesday Book.

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AS Level in History A

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Enquiry Topic: Norman England 1087–1107
Key Topics

Content
Learners should have studied the following:

William II ‘Rufus’ and the consolidation of power and government

Dispute over the Conqueror’s inheritance; William’s relationship with Robert; rebellion from the Norman barons (1088 and
1095); the role of Odo of Bayeux; William’s diplomacy in
Scotland (King Malcolm, homage, the treaty of 1091, Malcolm’s death); the Northumbrian campaigns (1092 and 1094);
William’s invasion of Wales (1095 and 1097); Ranulf Flambard and government.

William II ‘Rufus’ and the Church

William’s attitude towards the Church; the trial of William of
Saint-Calais (1088); William’s relationship with the papacy, including Urban II; the appointment of and relationship with
Anselm as Archbishop of Canterbury (1093); the Council of
Rockingham (1095); the spread of monasticism, including the
Augustinians.

The death of William II ‘Rufus’ and the succession of Henry 1107

William’s return to England in 1099; negotiations with Duke
William IX of Aquitaine; Robert’s return from the Crusade; the event of William’s death (2 August 1100 hunting trip); circumstances of William’s death; Henry I as the beneficiary of
William’s death.

2

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AS Level in History A

Unit Y133: England 1199–1272
Enquiry Topic: King John 1199–1216
Key Topics

Content
Learners should have studied the following:

John and Normandy

The securing of the Angevin inheritance; peace with Philip; the importance of John’s marriage to Isabelle of Angoulême; the murder of Arthur; the fall of Château Gaillard (1204); noble support for Philip; distrust of John; the loss of Normandy and its impact; financial problems and their impact on his ability to wage war.

The Baronial Rebellion of 1215

The government of England 1204–1212; John’s presence in
England; patronage; efforts to regain the Angevin inheritance,
Poitou (1206), Bouvines (1214); financial demands; feudal rights; royal justice; treatment of barons; the role of the
‘Northerners’ 1212–1213; the course of the rebellion; The
‘Articles of the Barons’ and Magna Carta; the significance of
Magna Carta; the resumption of war.

John and the Church

2

John’s relationship with the English Church, and Papacy, exploitation of the Church, the role of Stephen Langton, John and Innocent III; the Interdict, its impact on John’s kingship, the impact of excommunication; the end of the Interdict and
England as a Papal fief; the quashing of Magna Carta by the
Pope.

British Period Study: England 1216–1272
Key Topics

Content
Learners should have studied the following:

The minority and early years of the reign of
Henry III 1216–1232

Henry’s succession; Regency and Council, the role of William the Marshal in government; the settlement after 1215; rebellion in the 1220s; the roles of Hubert de Burgh and Peter des Roches in government; war with France (1230); Rebellion of 1232, causes and results.

Henry’s rule 1232–1258

Personal rule; Henry’s marriage and its impact; Henry’s piety; the nature of Henry’s kingship, his use of imagery, and imperial vision; policy towards the Jews; government in the localities; causes of growing unpopularity by 1258 including war with
France (1242), the Lusignans, rebellion in Gascony; the problem of Crusading and the Sicilian affair.

Political Crisis 1258–1263

The changes and coup of 1258; the expulsion of the Poitevins; the judicial inquiry and duties imposed on knights of the shire; the Provisions of Oxford; the crisis of 1260; the papal dispensation; Henry regains the initiative 1261–1262; dissension and chaos in the Welsh Marches 1262–1263.

© OCR 2014
AS Level in History A

13

Simon de Montfort, civil war and reconstruction 1263–1272

De Montfort’s seizure of power (1263); the emergence of
Lord Edward; second Barons’ War; Battle of Lewes (1264); the form of government of June 1264; the threat of invasion, the parliament of 1265; Battle of Evesham and results (1265);
Dictum of Kenilworth; reconstruction and recovery after Civil
War; parliament, legislation and financial developments, including the subsidy of 1269–1270.

2

14

© OCR 2014
AS Level in History A

Unit Y134: England 1377–1455
Enquiry Topic: Richard II 1377–1399
Key Topics

Content
Learners should have studied the following:

Richard II’s minority 1377–1380

England in 1377; Coronation of Richard II; Rule of the Councils; the influence and role of John of Gaunt; the renewal of war with
France; the parliament of 1377, financial problems and the Poll
Tax of 1377; the parliament of 1378 and Wycliffe; the end of the
Councils.

Personal Rule 1380–1388

Richard’s concept of monarchy; the causes, events and results of the Peasants’ Revolt; Richard’s quarrel with Gaunt; the influence of de la Pole and de Vere; war with France and
Scotland 1385–1386; the Wonderful Parliament and the impeachment of Chancellor Pole (1386); the Lords Appellant and their rule; the Merciless Parliament (1388).

Personal Rule and overthrow
1388–1399

The return of Gaunt and stability 1388–1397; Quarrel with
London (1392); death of Queen Anne (1394) and impact,
Richard II’s purge (1397), arrest of Warwick, Arundel and
Gloucester; the parliament of 1397; the parliament of 1398;
Richard II’s ‘tyranny’; the return and aims of Henry Bolingbroke;
Richard II’s overthrow (1399).

British Period Study: England 1399–1455
Key Topics

Content
Learners should have studied the following:

The reign of Henry IV

Henry Bolingbroke’s claim to the throne; the problem of
Richard; plots, rebellions and assassination attempts, including the Epiphany Rising (1400), Glyndwr Rising (1400–1415), Percy
Rebellion (1402–1408); foreign relations; finances and relations with parliament; the problem of Lollardy; Henry IV’s illness and factional struggles.

The domestic rule of Henry V

The restoration of order and royal authority; the parliament of
1413; anti-clerical developments, causes, nature and reasons for the growth of Lollardy, the Oldcastle Rebellion (1414) and its impact; the burning of John Badby; the Leicester Parliament; the Southampton Plot (1415); developments in government.

War with France 1399–1453

Reasons for the renewal of war with France; relations with
France under Henry IV; the campaign of 1415 and Agincourt; command of the seas and relief of Harfleur; the campaign of
1417–1420 and the Treaty of Troyes (1420); the 1421 campaign;
French revival under Joan of Arc; desertion of Burgundy; French recovery, the loss of Normandy and Gascony and the Battle of Castillon (1450–1453); the impact of the war on English domestic politics.

© OCR 2014
AS Level in History A

15

2

The minority of Henry VI and the origins of the Wars of the Roses

The plan for a minority; Gloucester as the Protector; Gloucester and Beaufort; the preservation of royal authority during the minority; domination of Suffolk; Act of Resumption (1450);
Cade’s Rebellion (1450); return of Richard of York; Henry VI’s insanity and the rule of England 1453–1455.

2

16

© OCR 2014
AS Level in History A

Unit Y135: England 1445–1509: Lancastrians, Yorkists and Henry VII
Enquiry Topic: Wars of the Roses 1445–1461
Key Topics

Content
Learners should have studied the following:

The Outbreak of the Wars 1445–1450

The government of England c.1445; the growth of opposition, the issue of taxation, Henry VI’s advisors, patronage, Cade’s rebellion (1450); Henry’s illness (1453–1455); the problem of the nobility; Somerset and York; failure in France to 1450 and its impact on Government.

The early actions of Richard, Duke of York

York’s return from Ireland (1450); York’s attempted coup
(1452); reaction to the birth of Henry’s heir (1453); York’s first
Protectorate (1454); York’s removal from the Protectorate;
York’s response to the actions of Margaret of Anjou and the second Protectorate (1455).

War and the defeat of Richard, Duke of York

Battle of St Albans (1455); capture of Henry VI; restoration of
York to the Protectorate; government of Margaret of Anjou; the role of Neville; the ‘love-day’ (1458); flight of the Yorkists;
‘Parliament of the Devils’; Battle of Northampton (1460); York as heir; death of York (1460) and Edward’s claim to the throne.

British Period Study: England 1461–1509
Key Topics

Content
Learners should have studied the following:

Edward IV’s first rule and the crisis of
1470–1471

Edward IV’s management of the government; Edward’s relations with the nobility; unrest; marriage to Elizabeth Woodville including the Earl of Warwick; relations with France; Edward’s fall from power and the restoration of Henry 1470–1471 including the role of Margaret of Anjou.

Edward IV and Richard III
1471–1485

Edward IV’s management of government; relations with the nobility; finances; Richard III’s accession; claim to the throne, the Princes in the Tower, the removal of the Woodvilles and
Hastings; the Buckingham rebellion; government under Richard
III, policy towards the nobility; defeat by Henry Tudor and reasons for his overthrow.

Henry VII’s rule in England
1485–1509

Henry‘s claim to the throne; Yorkist opposition, Lovel, Stafford and Suffolk, the Pretenders, Simnel and Warbeck; relations with the nobility, rewards and punishments; royal finances and their administration, opposition to taxation in Yorkshire and Cornwall; administration, the personnel, Councils, local government and parliament. Henry VII’s foreign policy
1485–1509

England’s position in Europe in 1485, Henry VII’s aims; relations with Burgundy, France, Scotland and Spain; treaties of Medina del Campo, Redon, Etaples and Ayton; marriage negotiations; trade agreements, including Magnus Intercursus and Malus
Intercursus.

© OCR 2014
AS Level in History A

17

2

Unit Y136: England 1485–1558: the Early Tudors
British Period Studies: England 1485–1547
Key Topics

2

Content
Learners should have studied the following:

The government of Henry VII and threats to his rule

Henry‘s claim to the throne; Yorkist opposition, Lovel, Stafford and Suffolk, the Pretenders, Simnel and Warbeck; relations with the nobility, rewards and punishments; royal finances and their administration, opposition to taxation in Yorkshire and Cornwall; administration, the personnel, Councils, local government and parliament. Henry VII’s foreign policy

England’s position in Europe in 1485, Henry VII’s aims; relations with Burgundy, France, Scotland and Spain; treaties of Medina del Campo, Redon, Etaples and Ayton; marriage negotiations; trade agreements, including Magnus Intercursus and Malus
Intercursus.

Henry VIII and Wolsey

Henry VIII’s personality; his role in government to 1529; aims and policies in foreign affairs to 1529, Wolsey’s role in foreign affairs; Wolsey’s administration of government, finances, law and social reforms; the church and its condition under Wolsey; the divorce and Wolsey’s fall.

The reign of Henry VIII after 1529

Religious change and opposition; religious legislation in the
1530s and 1540s, the Dissolution of the Monasteries, the
Pilgrimage of Grace; the rise and fall of Thomas Cromwell; the extent of Henry VIII’s role in government in the 1540s; faction in 1540s; foreign policy in the 1540s, war with France and
Scotland and its impact.

Enquiry Topic: Mid Tudor Crises 1547–1558
Key Topics

Content
Learners should have studied the following:

The stability of the monarchy

Issues of Edward VI’s age and Mary Tudor’s gender, marriage of Mary Tudor and Philip; the Devise for the succession in
1553 and the succession in 1558; faction and its impact during the rule of Somerset and Northumberland; factional conflict between Paget and Gardiner under Mary.

Religious changes

The religious and ecclesiastical policies 1547–1558; legislation, including the Prayer Books and Acts of Uniformity and the extent and results of religious change under Edward and Mary; support for, and opposition to, the religious changes at a local level including unrest, attitudes to Marian policies, Catholic restoration and persecution.

Rebellion and unrest

Causes and nature of rebellion and unrest; the rebellions of
1549 (Western and Kett), 1553 (Lady Jane Grey) and 1554
(Wyatt); social and economic developments including inflation, poverty, price rise and enclosure and their link to unrest.

18

© OCR 2014
AS Level in History A

Unit Y137: England 1547–1603: the Later Tudors
Enquiry Topic: Mid Tudor Crises 1547–1558
Key Topics

Content
Learners should have studied the following:

The stability of the monarchy

Issues of Edward VI’s age and Mary Tudor’s gender, marriage of Mary Tudor and Philip, the Devise for the succession in
1553 and the succession in 1558; faction and its impact during the rule of Somerset and Northumberland; factional conflict between Paget and Gardiner under Mary.

2

Religious changes

The religious and ecclesiastical policies 1547–1558; legislation, including the Prayer Books and Acts of Uniformity and the extent and results of religious change under Edward and Mary; support for, and opposition to, the religious changes at a local level including unrest, attitudes to Marian policies, Catholic restoration and persecution.

Rebellion and unrest

Causes and nature of rebellion and unrest; the rebellions of
1549 (Western and Kett), 1553 (Lady Jane Grey) and 1554
(Wyatt); social and economic developments, including inflation, poverty, price rise and enclosure and their link to unrest.

British Period Study: Elizabethan England
Key Topics

Content
Learners should have studied the following:

Elizabeth and religion

The religious situation and problems in 1558; the foreign situation and its impact on religious developments; the
Elizabethan Religious Settlement; the Puritan challenge and aims, support for Puritanism, the influence of Puritan leaders, attempts to change the church, the MP’s tactics, separatism; the attitude of Elizabeth’s archbishops; the Catholic threat and its nature, the increased threat after 1568, government reaction, the Northern Rebellion (1569), Papal excommunication (1570),
Mary Queen of Scots, plots, seminary priests, Jesuits; the problems facing Catholics 1558–1589.

The nature of the Elizabethan Monarchy,
Government and Parliament

The role of the court, ministers and Privy Council, including the role and influence of William Cecil; Elizabeth’s use and management of faction; the role of gender; the roles of the
House of Commons and Lords; Parliament’s relationship with the Queen; the attitudes of Elizabeth, the Privy Council and Parliament to the issues of marriage, succession and parliamentary privilege; the impact of marriage and succession on domestic and foreign affairs: the impact of Mary Queen of
Scots and James VI.

Elizabeth’s management of financial, economic and social affairs

The financial and economic situation in 1558; sources of crown income; the problem of inflation; methods of raising finances, ordinary revenue, parliamentary taxation; methods of reducing costs, financial administration; the impact of war; overseas trade; the issue of monopolies; the Statute of Artificers, poverty and the poor law.

© OCR 2014
AS Level in History A

19

Elizabethan later years 1588–1603

The defence of the royal prerogative, relations with Parliament; the domestic effects of war with Spain; economic and social problems, harvests and the impact of rising prices, local unrest; food riots, the Oxfordshire rising; the Irish rebellion, Essex’s rebellion; Elizabeth’s reputation in this period.

2

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© OCR 2014
AS Level in History A

Unit Y138: The Early Stuarts and the Origins of the Civil War 1603–1660
British Period Study: The Early Stuarts 1603–1646
Key Topics

Content
Learners should have studied the following:

James I and Parliament

James I and Divine Right; James I and his financial problems, inherited problems, the inadequacy of royal finances, James I and his extravagance, financial disputes, the Great Contract;
James I and foreign policy, his aims and reactions to the policy in Parliament, peace with Spain (1604), England and the Thirty
Years War, the Spanish Match.

2

James I and religion

The religious situation in 1603; the Anglican Church and
Puritanism; the Hampton Court Conference (1604), the development of Arminianism, the growth of Puritan opposition;
James’ attitude to Catholics; the Gunpowder Plot; the impact of
Catholicism on policies.

Charles I 1625–1640

Charles’ aims and problems in 1625; relations with Parliament and the impact of foreign policy; financial problems,
Buckingham; the dissolution of parliament in 1629; Personal
Rule and the reasons for embarking on Personal Rule, financial policies and the reactions to them, Laud’s religious policies and the reaction to them; Wentworth and the policy of Thorough in England and Ireland, Scotland and the Bishops’ Wars, the breakdown of Personal Rule.

Charles I and the victory of Parliament
1640–1646

The Short and Long Parliaments; the aims and policies of
Charles and the opposition; the crises of 1640–1642, including
Pym, dismantling of prerogative government, divisions over reform of the Church, the impact of the Irish Rebellion, the
Grand Remonstrance, the Five Members; the outbreak of
Civil War; Royalists and Parliamentarians (strengths and weaknesses), the course and outcome of the First Civil War, the formation of the New Model Army, the development of neutralism. © OCR 2014
AS Level in History A

21

Enquiry Topic: The Execution of Charles I and the Interregnum 1646–1660
Key Topics
The failure to achieve a settlement
1646–1649

2

Content
Learners should have studied the following:
Negotiations with Charles I; the role of Oliver Cromwell, the
Scots and the army; the emergence and growth of radicalism, the Leveller debate and the reaction to them; the Second Civil
War; religious issues; Pride’s Purge; the trial and execution of
Charles I.

Commonwealth and Protectorate

Religious and political issues, the rule of the Rump Parliament
1649–1653, its achievements and dismissal; the Parliament of the Saints (Barebones); the Instrument of Government;
Cromwell as Lord Protector, royalist plots, the offer of the throne, the role of the army; the rule of the Major Generals;
Cromwell in Ireland; death of Oliver Cromwell.

The Restoration of Charles II

Richard Cromwell; the role of the army and General Monck in the Restoration; the Convention Parliament; Charles II’s actions, the Declaration of Breda; proclamation of Charles as king and the reaction to his return.

22

© OCR 2014
AS Level in History A

Unit Y139: The Making of Georgian Britain 1678–c.1760
Enquiry Topic: The Glorious Revolution 1678–1689
Key Topics

Content
Learners should have studied the following:

The last years of Charles II 1678–1685

England in 1678, Shaftesbury and opposition, the succession issue and the Exclusion Crisis, dissolution of the Oxford
Parliament; extent of Charles’ power 1681–1685, financial weakness, bureaucracy, gentry and local government, the judiciary, control over boroughs, quo warranto proceedings; the
Rye House Plot; Tory power and Whig weakness 1681–1685; the
Anglican Church in 1685.

James II 1685–1688

James’ aims; James’ accession and first year, the 1685 elections, reassurances to Protestants; Argyll and Monmouth Rebellions, the Bloody Assizes; James’ attempts to win non-conformist support, James’ use of dispensing power, attempts to pack parliament, remodelling of corporations; James and the
Catholics, Declarations of Indulgence; Seven Bishops Trial; birth of an heir.

The Glorious Revolution of 1688–1689

The crisis of 1688, invitation to William; William’s decision to invade; James’ actions; defeat and departure of James; the
Convention Parliament; the offering of the crown to William and
Mary.

© OCR 2014
AS Level in History A

23

2

British Period Study: The Making of Georgian Britain 1689–c.1760
Key Topics

Content
Learners should have studied the following:

The Revolutionary Settlement and politics
1689–1714

The political and religious settlement 1689–1701 under
William and Mary, including the Bill of Rights, Toleration,
Triennial, Licensing, Mutiny Acts and Act of Settlement; Queen
Anne, personality and internal policies, Whigs and Tories; the
Marlborough-Godolphin ministry, the Harley ministry, different views of war; the Scottish settlement; the Union with Scotland
1707.

Aspects of Politics 1714–1780

Tory eclipse and defeats; Jacobitism, the ’15 and the ’45;
Walpole 1721–1745, the South Sea Bubble and financial policies; parliamentary management and patronage; relations with George I and II and Queen Caroline; religious policies and the Indemnity acts, Excise Bill 1733; War and Parliamentary defeats 1741–1742; calls for reform in the reign of George III: the growth of radicalism, Wilkes; Wyvill and the County
Associations.

Social and economic developments
c.1700–1780

The evangelical revival; the emergence and growth of
Methodism, Wesley and the reasons for his appeal; the growth of trade and early industrial developments; finance; financial settlement (Bank of England 1694), National Debt and commercial growth; urban development and problems, including crime; urban unrest, including the Porteous Riots and the Gordon Riots.

Foreign policy 1689–1763

William III’s foreign policy, the Nine Years War 1689–1697 and the Peace of Ryswick; Grand Alliance and the War of the
Spanish Succession, 1702–1714 (and the Treaty of Utrecht
1713); Hanover and the foreign policies of George I and II;
Walpole’s policies 1721–1745 (peace, commerce, treaties, relations with France, Austria and Spain – War of Jenkins’ Ear with Spain 1739 and war with France 1744); Pitt the Elder and the Seven Years War.

2

24

© OCR 2014
AS Level in History A

Unit Y140: From Pitt to Peel: Britain 1783–1853
British Period Study: British Government in the Age of Revolution 1783–1832
Key Topics

Content
Learners should have studied the following:

Pitt the Younger

Royal support; the 1784 election; reform of finance and administration; trade; the impact of the French Revolution; radical threats; Whig splits 1790–94; anti-radical legislation
1794–1801.

2

Lord Liverpool and the Tories 1812–1830

Liverpool and the radical challenge 1812–1822, the Corn
Law 1815, Peterloo, government policy on law and order, the
Gagging Acts and the Six Acts 1819; Tory governments
1815–1830; Liverpool, Canning and Wellington as Prime
Ministers; Huskisson on trade and finance; Peel at the
Home Office; repeal of the Combination Laws and Test and
Corporation Acts; Roman Catholic Emancipation.

Foreign Policy 1783–1830

Ending isolation 1783–1789; French revolution to 1793; Pitt as War Minister 1793–1806 (Blue water strategy, Coalitions,
Peace of Amiens); War with Napoleon – Blockades, Coalitions and the Peninsular campaign; Castlereagh 1812–1822 (Vienna
Settlement, Congress diplomacy), Canning 1822–1827 (Holy
Alliance, Spain, Portugal, Latin America and the Greek Question to 1830).

Parliamentary reform and the Great Reform
Act 1832

Whigs and Tory attitudes to reform 1783–1830; early reform attempts 1785–1830; reasons for parliamentary reform
1828–1830, extent of popular discontent 1830–1832, the aims and terms of the 1832 Act.

© OCR 2014
AS Level in History A

25

Enquiry Topic: Peel and the Age of Reform 1832–1853
Key Topics

Content
Learners should have studied the following:

Peel and the Conservative Party 1832–1846

Peel as party leader and prime minister 1834–1846, including the Tamworth Manifesto, elections and organisation to 1841; government 1841–1846, finance and the economy including the budgets, income tax, banking, tariff reform and the sugar duties, business reform (companies and railways); the Anti-Corn Law
League, the Corn Laws, Peel and the reasons for their repeal, the debate over the Corn Laws and Peel’s fall from power.

Peel and social reform 1832–1846

Children: the family and the impact of the Factory Acts
1833–1846: pauper apprentices and child labour, opposition to measures taken to protect children, pressures leading to change (Royal Commission on Factory Reform 1833, Mines Act
1842, Graham’s Factory Act); the question of poverty: pressures leading to change in the Old Poor Law 1815–1834 (the Royal
Commission 1832, Chadwick, the attitudes of government), the New Poor Law 1834–1847 (workhouses, opposition, the
Anti‑Poor Law League); the condition of Ireland: Peel’s approach to land issues, university reform, the crisis over Maynooth and the famine.

Peel and pressure groups

Trade Unions and the GNCTU; the Tolpuddle Martyrs: reasons for the emergence of Chartism, support for Chartism, the methods and leadership of Chartism, government attitudes and the impact of Chartism 1837–1848.

2

26

© OCR 2014
AS Level in History A

Unit Y141: Liberals, Conservatives and the Rise of Labour 1846–1918
British Period Study: Liberals, Conservatives and the Rise of Labour 1846–1902
Key Topics

Content
Learners should have studied the following:

Whigs to Liberals

The repeal of the Corn Laws and its impact on the Whigs,
Peelites and Conservatives; the roles and influence of
Palmerston, Gladstone and the Radicals in the emergence of the Liberal Party; the reasons for the emergence of the
Liberal Party; the impact of foreign affairs on Britain and in the emergence of the Liberal Party including 1848, Don Pacifico, the
Crimean War, the Italian Wars of Unification.

Gladstonian Liberalism

The ideas and policies of Gladstonian Liberalism: support for free trade laissez faire and administrative competence; attitudes to Ireland and foreign policy; appeal to different social groups; the ‘People’s William’; domestic reforms (including
Ireland); the reasons for and impact of reforms; the roles of
Gladstone and his colleagues; reasons for defeat in 1874.

Disraelian Conservatism

The ideas and policies of Disraelian Conservatism; the effects of the defeat of Peel on the Conservative Party; the leadership of Derby; mistrust and political qualities of Disraeli; his support for constitutional reform; the aims and importance of the
1867 Reform Act and reasons for defeat in 1868; One Nation
Conservatism: the creation of Tory democracy; support for the monarchy, the Church of England and the aristocracy; belief in security at home; attitudes to Empire and British Interests abroad; domestic reforms and foreign and imperial policies of the 1874–1880 ministry, including their impact; the roles of
Disraeli and his colleagues; reasons for defeat in 1880.

Late Victorian politics: Gladstone and
Salisbury until 1902

Gladstone’s three ministries of 1880–1885, February–July
1886 and 1892–1895; domestic, imperial and foreign policy; Ireland and the failure of Home Rule (including the
Gladstone‑Chamberlain split of 1886); Gladstone’s impact on late Victorian politics; Salisbury’s ministries of 1885–1892 and 1895–1902; domestic, imperial and foreign policy; organisational changes within the party, including the Primrose
League (1883); Liberal Unionism; Social Reform (education, housing and land); policy towards Ireland; the Boer War.

© OCR 2014
AS Level in History A

27

2

Enquiry Topic: England and a New Century c.1900–1918
Key Topics

Content
Learners should have studied the following:

Political issues c.1900–1914

England in 1900; The Conservative Government under Balfour
1902–1905; reasons for the Liberal landslide; the origins and development of the Labour Party and the Trade Unions from
1893 to 1914; constitutional crisis, causes, course and results; the issue of women’s suffrage 1906–1914; problems in Ireland
1910–1914; Trade Unions and problems of industrial unrest.

Social issues 1900–1918

The development of ideas of new liberalism, including the role of Lloyd George and Churchill; the debate over poverty (Booth,
Rowntree and Galt) and the debate over national efficiency; education and young people: the acts of 1902, 1906 and 1918, school measures, the Children’s Charter; Old Age pensions;
National Insurance; measures to protect workers.

Britain at war 1914–1918

Attitudes to war; the impact of war on the Home Front; political developments during the war: the coalition of 1915, the creation of the Lloyd George Coalition; the splits in the Liberal
Party and their importance; the development of the Labour
Party and its Constitution of 1918; the role of women in the war, and the extension of the franchise in 1918.

2

28

© OCR 2014
AS Level in History A

Unit Y142: Britain 1900–1951
Enquiry Topic: England and a New Century c.1900–1918
Key Topics

Content
Learners should have studied the following:

Political issues c.1900–1914

England in 1900; The Conservative Government under Balfour
1902–1905; reasons for the Liberal landslide; the origins and development of the Labour Party and the Trade Unions from
1893 to 1914; constitutional crisis, causes, course and results; the issue of women’s suffrage 1906–1914; problems in Ireland
1910–1914; Trade Unions and problems of industrial unrest.

2

Social issues 1900–1918

The development of ideas of new liberalism, including the role of Lloyd George and Churchill; the debate over poverty (Booth,
Rowntree and Galt) and the debate over national efficiency; education and young people: the acts of 1902, 1906 and 1918, school measures, the Children’s Charter; Old Age pensions;
National Insurance; measures to protect workers.

Britain at war 1914–1918

Attitudes to war; the impact of war on the Home Front; political developments during the war: the coalition of 1915, the creation of the Lloyd George Coalition; the splits in the Liberal
Party and their importance; the development of the Labour
Party and its Constitution of 1918; the role of women in the war, and the extension of the franchise in 1918.

© OCR 2014
AS Level in History A

29

British Period Study: Britain c.1918–1951
Key Topics

Content
Learners should have studied the following:

British politics 1918–1929

The result of, and reasons for, the outcome of the 1918 election; the decline of the Liberal Party to 1924; Lloyd
George’s coalition, policies and reasons for fall; the 1923 election and its significance; the First Labour Government 1924,
MacDonald’s aims, domestic reforms, international relations and fall from power; the Conservative recovery 1918–1924; the
Conservatives in power 1924–1929, the leadership of Baldwin,
Churchill as Chancellor, the work of Neville Chamberlain; extension of the franchise; the 1929 election.

British domestic politics 1929–1939

The Second Labour Government 1929–1931, economic problems, domestic policies, MacDonald as leader, Snowden as
Chancellor; the formation, nature and impact of the National
Government; MacDonald, Baldwin and Chamberlain as Prime
Ministers; the Abdication Crisis; political extremism including
Communism, Moseley and the British Union of Fascists; the impact of foreign affairs on domestic government.

Economic issues 1918–1939

Post-war economic conditions; the problems of the staple industries; economic unrest; the problems of the mining industry, the causes and failure of the General Strike; the impact of the Great Depression; unemployment in the interwar period, causes, extent, regional patterns; the economic policies of the
National Government, success and limitations; social policies of the National Government; the recovery, causes, extent, regional variations. Domestic politics 1940–1951

The fall of Chamberlain and replacement by Churchill; the effects of the war on food, women, industry, health and housing; wartime reports and their impact, including Beveridge
(1942) and Butler Act (1944); the issues in the 1945 election, the reasons for Labour victory, reputation of the Conservative and Labour Parties, outcome of the election; the Labour
Governments 1945–1951, Attlee as Prime Minister, government policies and achievements, its record on national insurance, health, education and nationalisation; the impact of their reforms; Labour’s achievements, the problems of balance of payments, rationing, wage freezes, internal divisions,
Conservative reorganisation; the 1950 and 1951 elections.

2

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© OCR 2014
AS Level in History A

Unit Y143: Britain c.1930–1997
Enquiry Topic: Churchill 1930–1951
Key Topics

Content
Learners should have studied the following:

Churchill’s view of events 1929–1940

Why Churchill was out of office 1929–1939; his attitude to the
Abdication Crisis; his views about Empire and India and clashes with his party; attitude towards Germany after 1933; his views about rearmament and appeasement; why Churchill became
Prime Minister.

2

Churchill as wartime Prime Minister

Why Churchill became Prime Minister; stance in 1940 and style of leadership; relations with his generals and his impact on strategic decisions in the Mediterranean, bombing of Germany and the war in Europe 1944–1945; plans for reconstruction and loss of 1945 election.

Churchill and international diplomacy
1939–1951

Churchill’s view on Britain’s world and imperial role; relations with other wartime leaders (Roosevelt, Stalin and de Gaulle); contribution to international conferences; plans for post-war
Europe; Iron Curtain speech; attitude to Empire and Europe after 1945.

British Period Study: Britain 1951–1997
Key Topics

Content
Learners should have studied the following:

Conservative domination 1951–1964

Reasons for the Conservative victory 1951; social changes, immigration, unrest, social mobility and tensions, education; living standards, housing, prosperity and unemployment;
Conservative economic policies, Butskellism, industrial growth and stagflation; Conservative leadership of Churchill, Eden,
Macmillan and Home; scandals including the Vassall affair,
Philby, Argyll and Profumo; reasons for Conservative decline;
Labour leadership, divisions and electoral failures of the Labour
Party.

Labour and Conservative governments
1964–1979

Labour victory 1964, Wilson as leader 1964–1970; economic problems and policies; relations with the Trade Unions; Labour
Party divisions; 1970 election, Heath as party leader and Prime
Minister; aims and policies of Heath’s Government; industrial relations, miners’ strike; Wilson and Callaghan 1974–1979, problems and policies 1974–1979.

Thatcher and the end of consensus
1979–1997

Election victories; Thatcher and her ministers; reasons for support and opposition; economic policies including monetarism, free-market, supply-side economics and privatisation; social policies and unrest; unemployment and the Trade Unions; the Miners’ strike; fall of Thatcher and replacement with Major; Conservative divisions under Major and electoral defeat 1997.

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AS Level in History A

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Britain’s position in the world 1951–1997

Relations with and policies towards the USA and the USSR;
Britain’s influence at the UN; role in Europe; nuclear policy; response to crises: Korean War, Suez, the Falklands War,
First Gulf War; decolonisation and changing attitudes to the
Commonwealth.

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2c. Content of unit group 2: Non-British period study (Units Y231 to Y254)
Introduction to unit group 2: Non-British period study
Centres should choose one unit from the twenty-four available in unit group 2.
The periods of non-British study will have the same number of Key Topics as for the British Period Study element, but there is no associated Enquiry element.
The assessment of this unit group will be in two sections. For section A, learners will be required to answer one traditional ‘Period Study’ essay (as in a unit group 1) from a choice of two. For section B, learners will answer one question which will require them to assess the strengths and limitations of a historian’s interpretation related to the key issues that have been specified as AS Interpretations topics.
The length of the periods studied within this unit group will encourage learners to develop their interest in, and understanding of, important developments. They will also enable learners to ask significant questions about important issues. They are sufficiently broad and balanced to ensure both coherence and variety. The units have sufficient chronological range to provide for the study of continuity and change, which will allow the development of the Key Topics and for the analysis of cause and consequences within the periods.
The length of periods studied will prevent a borehole approach to their study and learners will be able to see change and developments, and make substantiated judgements, over substantial lengths of time, so that they can see issues in a wider perspective. The Topic areas include the study of significant individuals, societies, events and issues. They also include a range of different historical perspectives, for example aesthetic, cultural, economic, ethnic, political, religious, scientific, social and technological.

© OCR 2014
AS Level in History A

Centres will also be able to choose, should they desire, a non-European period from the same time period as their British Topic and this will also allow a broad understanding of the period in a wider context.
The nature of the examination will require learners to demonstrate an understanding of the key historical terms and concepts relevant to the period studied.
The questions will require learners to recall, select and deploy appropriate knowledge and communicate this clearly and effectively. Learners will be expected to demonstrate abilities to explain, assess, analyse and consider the relationships between key features of the period studied in order to reach substantiated judgements. Unlike for the A Level version of this unit group, for the AS examination learners will be set an additional question dealing with historians‘ interpretations. Two of four key topics for each option are identified for this purpose, and learners should be familiar with different interpretations of these topics, and able to use their knowledge to evaluate them. The interpretations set will be quotations (usually 1 to 2 sentences in length) from historians, and will be fully attributed with the publication title and date. They will only be edited for accessibility of language. Knowledge of the historical context and the wider historical debate should be used to analyse the interpretation and to evaluate its strengths and weaknesses. The skills and techniques for this section of the examination can either be integrated into the delivery of this unit (they will be good preparation for candidates going on to enter for
A Level), or they can be taught for AS only candidates at the end of the programme of study, by revisiting the relevant key topics.

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Unit Y231: The Rise of Islam c.550–750
Key Topics

Content
Learners should have studied the following:

The Middle East c.550–620

The structure of pre-Islamic Arabia in the mid 6th Century; economic and social issues; religious beliefs in pre-Islamic
Arabia; the commercial importance of Mecca; the influence of tribalism; the decline of the Byzantine and the Sassanian
Empires and the impact on the Arab world; the impact of plague and warfare; Arab military strengths; the Meccan period
c.570–620.

The establishment of Islam
c.620–632

The impact of Revelation and the hijra; the Medinan period
c.622–632; challenges to the Prophet Muhammad; the flight of the Prophet Muhammad; the Constitution of Medina and its significance; the early growth of Islam and reasons for its appeal; the economy and its role in the rise of Islam.

2
AS INTERPRETATION TOPIC

The beginning of the Empire and the rule of the Rightly Guided Caliphs
AS INTERPRETATION TOPIC

The establishment and expansion of the
Umayyad Empire

34

Disagreements about the succession; the succession of Abu
Bakr (632) the Ridda Wars or Wars of Apostasy (632–633); the beginnings of the Empire and expansion into Persia, reasons for success; the rule of Abu Bakr (632–634), his emergence as Caliph, the nature of his rule and achievements; Umar ibn al‑khattab (634–644), the reasons for his rise, expansion and the governance of conquered lands, the treatment of nonMuslims, the fall of Damascus and Jerusalem (637); Uthman ibn
Affan (644–656), early successes, growing internal problems, rebellion and the murder of Uthman; Ali ibn Abi Talib (656–
661), opposition and arbitration.
The rule of Mu’awiya (661–680); problems and achievements, succession crisis; the Second Fitna of 680; the rule of ‘Abd al‑Malik (685–705); the establishment of Syria and Damascus; expansion of the Empire in North Africa, Spain and Middle
East and Sindh and Punjab; relations with Christians; systems and methods of government; unrest, including the Third Fitna; decline of the Umayyad Empire.

© OCR 2014
AS Level in History A

Unit Y232: Charlemagne 768–814
Key Topics

Content
Learners should have studied the following:

War and conquest

Situation in the Frankish lands on Charlemagne’s accession in 768; succession disputes with Carloman 768–771; reasons and changing motives for war; wars against the Saxons; the destruction of the Irminsul, Danes, Avars, the destruction of the ring, Lombards, Pavia, Slavs, Muslim Spain, Barcelona and Basque ambitions, Roncasvelles, Byzantines; methods of warfare; reasons for success.

2

Administration and internal affairs

Aims and methods of control and organisation; capitularies, conciliar decrees, counts and missi dominici; economic policies including coinage; importance of the Church to effective government; religious policies, synods, Admonitio Generalis, church schools, literacy and clerical education; legal reforms, the Programmatic Capitulary (802) and revision of Salic Law; extent of success of administrative and religious policies across the empire.

The Carolingian Renaissance

Motives for patronage; monasteries, Carolingian minuscule and the revival of classical texts; Gregorian chant; schools of
Metz, Soisson and St Gall; the work of scholars including Alcuin,
Einhard and Paul the Deacon; Byzantine and pre-Romanesque architecture; courts at Frankfurt, Aachen and Paderborn; extent of a cultural revival.

AS INTERPRETATION TOPIC

Later kingship and imperial rule
AS INTERPRETATION TOPIC

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AS Level in History A

Charlemagne’s motives and aid to Pope Leo III; reasons for the imperial coronation in 800 and effect on Charlemagne’s rule; image and Frankish customs; relations with Byzantium; Divisio; death of his sons and role of Louis; consolidation or decline in later years.

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Unit Y233: The Crusades and the Crusader States 1095–1192
Key Topics

Content
Learners should have studied the following:

The First Crusade

The situation in Western Europe, Byzantium and the Islamic
Near East on the eve of the First Crusade; the idea of Holy
War; the Appeal of Alexius 1095; Urban II’s aims and appeal at Clermont; the preaching of the First Crusade; motives of
Crusaders; the People’s Crusade; leadership of the First Crusade and divisions; journey across Anatolia; the political and religious divisions in the Islamic world; military tactics of the Crusaders and opponents; the capture of Edessa (1098), Antioch (1098) and Jerusalem (1099).

AS INTERPRETATION TOPIC

2
The Crusader States in the 12th Century

Establishment, development, reasons for survival of Crusader
States, including Jerusalem and Antioch; role of rulers
(especially the kings of Jerusalem); western aid; problems of succession, including the death of Baldwin II; internal rivalries, including Baldwin II and Melisende, the events of 1183–1186;
Muslim disunity; manpower; castles; the military orders of the
Templars and Hospitallers; finance.

The Second Crusade

Circumstances in Outremer in 1130s and 1140s; rise of Zengi and the development of Jihad; taking of Edessa (1144); Bernard of Clairvaux and the call for Second Crusade; reasons for the failure of the Second Crusade; events in Anatolia, Antioch, Acre
(1147–1148); siege of Damascus (1148); the Islamic response to the Second Crusade; the impact of the failure of the Second
Crusade on the West, Outremer and the Islamic world.

The Third Crusade

Reasons for and aims of the Third Crusade; the development of the idea of Jihad; Zengi, Nur ad Din and Saladin; problems in Outremer, Hattin (1187) and the loss of Jerusalem (1187); reasons for the failure of Frederick Barbarossa’s expedition; the roles of Richard I and Philip Augustus; events at Acre and Jaffa
(1191–1192); negotiations with Saladin; consequences of the
Third Crusade for the West, Outremer and the Islamic world.

AS INTERPRETATION TOPIC

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© OCR 2014
AS Level in History A

Unit Y234: Genghis Khan and the Explosion from the Steppes c.1167–1405
Key Topics

Content
Learners should have studied the following:

Genghis Khan and the Creation of the
Mongol Empire c.1167–1264

The nature of nomadic Steppe tribes in the mid-12th century; rise of Genghis; reasons for expansion from Genghis to Mongke, military tactics, aims, organisation, leadership; strengths and weaknesses of Mongol rule; Karakorum; defeat of the
Khwarazmians, Jin, and Abbasids; invasions in Europe, Central
Asia, India, the Levant; role of Subedei, Batu, Hulegu, Khubilai and Berke; civil war and disunity by 1264.

AS INTERPRETATION TOPIC

The Reign of Khubilai Khan
1264–1294

Consolidation of rule and control of China; economic policies; political structures; provincial administration; legal code; religious policies and interaction with Buddhists, Confucians,
Nestorians and Daoists; court rituals, patronage and culture;
Dadu, Shangdu and the Grand Canal; military success and failure in China and South East Asia; limitations as khagan; extent of Mongol rule in the Golden Horde, Chagatai Khanate and Ilkhanate by 1294.

The Khanates 1294–1405

Nature of Mongol rule 1294–1405; impact of Ghazan, Uzbeg and the Yuan; role of Islam; disunity and reasons for decline;
Tokhtamysh; rise of Tamerlane and his impact in Persia,
Azerbaijan, India and the Levant.

AS INTERPRETATION TOPIC

Impact of the Mongol invasions and interaction between East and West to 1405

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AS Level in History A

Effect on Christian, Muslim and Mongol culture, medicine, science, and technology; influence of Persia and China on the
Mongols and the West; bubonic plague; role of trade, the Silk
Road and Pax Mongolica; travellers and contacts with the East including Marco Polo; ideological impact.

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Unit Y235: Exploration, Encounters and Empire 1445–1570
Key Topics

Content
Learners should have studied the following:

Exploration

Reasons why this was an age of exploration; Renaissance learning and values; trade; religion; technological change;
Ottoman expansion; geography of and internal developments in Portugal and Spain; motives for patronage; motives and contributions of individual explorers: Diaz, da Gama, Vespucci,
Columbus, Magellan, Balboa, Cabral, Cortes, Pizarro; routes; difficulties faced.

AS INTERPRETATION TOPIC

2
Encounters and conquest
AS INTERPRETATION TOPIC

The Treaty of Tordesillas (1494); encounters by Portugal:
Atlantic and Americas, Africa, Asia; encounters by Spain: the
Caribbean, the Americas; Portuguese conquest: Albuquerque,
Brazil; Spanish Conquests: the Caribbean, Mexico
(Moctezuma II), Panama and Peru (Atahualpa); difficulties faced in encounters and conquests; reasons for success; gains and losses for individual explorers and their patrons.

Settlement and consequences

Portuguese forts, staging and trading posts: Africa, India and the Far East; settlement of Brazil; Spanish settlement of the Caribbean, Mexico, Panama and Peru; central and local administrative systems by Spain and Portugal; consequences
(military, economic, social, religious) for indigenous peoples of
Portuguese and Spanish conquest and settlements.

Impact of overseas empire on Europe

Political, religious, social, economic and financial consequences for Portugal, Spain and Europe; European balance of power; bullion; the slave trades; the balance sheet of personal and national benefits and losses.

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AS Level in History A

Unit Y236: Spain 1469–1556
Key Topics

Content
Learners should have studied the following:

Isabella and Ferdinand: government

The situation in Spain in 1469; campaign to secure the throne by 1474; administrative methods; control of the nobility and towns, law and order, finances, trade and economy: customs barriers; similarities and differences in the rule of Castile and
Aragon; extent of unification and ‘New Monarchy’; powers of the monarchs; Ferdinand’s rule after Isabella’s death; the situation in 1516.

AS INTERPRETATION TOPIC

Isabella and Ferdinand: religion
AS INTERPRETATION TOPIC

2

The monarchs’ religious aims and beliefs; relations with Rome; title ‘The Catholic Kings’; La convivencia; the Reconquista; the capture of Granada (1492) and its significance; treatment of the Moriscos and Conversos; Cisneros and Church reform; the
Inquisition and its impact.

Charles I: government and religion

The succession; administrative methods, inheritance and priorities by 1519; reliance on foreigners; relations with the
Spanish nobility and towns, handling of the Comunero and
Germania revolts (1519–1524), reasons for stability after
1524; finances; religious developments, Charles I’s tolerance to Morisco traditions; relations with Rome; the Polyglot Bible,
Illuminism and Erasmianism; Philip as Regent (1540–1555);
Charles’s abdication (1555).

Overseas policies and the economy

Exploration and discovery; Columbus and the discovery and explorations of the ‘Indies’, the Caribbean, Hispaniola; Cortes and the Conquest of Mexico (1518–1541); Pizarro and the
Conquest of Peru (1524–1541); the economic impact of the
New World on Spanish trade and the economy; domestic trade, industry and agriculture; foreign policy: aims and threats, alliances, the Italian Wars, the impact on Spain of Charles I’s problems as Holy Roman Emperor.

© OCR 2014
AS Level in History A

39

Unit Y237: The German Reformation and the rule of Charles V 1500–1559
Key Topics

Content
Learners should have studied the following:

The German Reformation 1517–1529

Charles V’s inheritance and foreign problems; the structure and state of the Holy Roman Empire, Charles V’s election as
Emperor; the state of the Roman Catholic Church c.1500,
Indulgences; reactions to the 95 Theses (1517), disputations;
Luther’s ideas and publications and the printing press; Papal excommunication (1520–1521), the Diet of Worms, in hiding in the Wartburg; Luther’s relations with radicals and humanists, the Knights’ and Peasants’ Wars, Luther’s 1525 pamphlets;
Imperial Diets, views of German princes and cities, including
Philip of Hesse, Frederick the Wise, Augsburg, Nuremburg; the situation in 1529.

AS INTERPRETATION TOPIC

2

The spread of Lutheranism
1530–1555, the Schmalkaldic War and
Peace of Augsburg
AS INTERPRETATION TOPIC

Areas accepting the 1530 Augsburg Confession, Melanchthon,
Luther, Lutheran church leadership; Charles V’s problems elsewhere; opposing League, reconciliation attempts and leadership, the death of Luther; the Schmalkaldic War
(1546–1547): the Battle of Mühlberg (1547), the Augsburg
Interim (1548), truces and shifting alliances including Maurice of Saxony, the Treaty of Chambord (1552), the Peace of
Passau (1552); Charles V’s flight from the Empire, the Peace of
Augsburg 1555.

Charles V’s relations with the Ottoman
Empire

The situation in 1520; expansion of Ottoman power in the
Balkans and Mediterranean, Charles V’s aims and actions against Barbarossa in the Mediterranean; the impact on relations of: Charles V’s war with France, Ferdinand and
Hungary, Siege of Vienna and the campaign of 1532; the situation in 1540s, impact of problems in the Holy Roman
Empire.

Charles V’s Wars with France

The situation in the Habsburg-Valois wars in 1520; the strengths and weaknesses of Charles’s Empire and of France in relation to the war; the development of the wars and warfare 1521–1559, extent of and reasons for Charles’s successes and failures; his foreign legacy on his abdication in 1555 and up to the Treaty of
Cateau-Cambrésis 1559.

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AS Level in History A

Unit Y238: Philip II 1556–1598
Key Topics

Content
Learners should have studied the following:

Political authority

Legacy of Charles I; condition of Spain, ‘absolutism’, the conciliar system, centralisation, methods and style of government; financial and social policies; advisers, factions, e.g. Ruy Gomez,
Gonzalo and Antonio Perez, Escobedo; justice; the fates of Don
Carlos and Montigny; provincialism, revolts of the Moriscos
(1568) and of Aragon (1590); government, law and order, finances and economy in 1598.

Religion
AS INTERPRETATION TOPIC

Foreign policy
AS INTERPRETATION TOPIC

The Netherlands

© OCR 2014
AS Level in History A

Philip II’s inheritance, family issues, personal religion; religious reforms; relations with the Papacy, the Spanish Church and
Inquisition; attitude towards the Tridentine decrees, Jesuits, the
Index, heretics, Moriscos and Conversos; the moral and spiritual impact of the Inquisition, the religious condition of Spain in
1598.
The foreign situation in 1555; priorities, defence, crusade, expansion, peace or war; foreign relations and military operations in the Mediterranean, with the Papacy, the
Ottomans, Barbary Corsairs, Venice; the Holy League and the Battle of Lepanto (1571); relations with England, France,
Portugal; annexation (1580); the consistency of Spain’s aims, methods and the nature of policies; Philip’s reputation abroad; his achievements and failures.
Political, religious, regional, financial and economic origins of the revolt; Philip’s anti-heresy and centralisation policies; ministers and military commanders: Granvelle, Alva, Requesens,
Don John, Parma; William of Orange and Maurice of Nassau as leaders of the Revolt, their aims, politics and military abilities; foreign involvement in the revolt; religion; divisions between north and south, the Pacification of Ghent (1576), the Unions of
Utrecht and Arras (1579); effects of the assassination of William of Orange (1584); economic and strategic position of northern provinces; reasons for Spain’s failure to crush the revolt; the situation in 1598.

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Unit Y239: African Kingdoms c.1400–c.1800: four case studies
Key Topics

Content
Learners should have studied the following:

The Songhay Empire c.1450–1591

Situation in Sahelian Africa c.1450; reasons for the rise of the
Songhay Empire including military success and use of cavalry, collapse of Mali Empire, key figures e.g. Sonni Ali, capture of
Timbuktu 1468; weaknesses of and relationships with client states; political, social, military and economic nature and development of Songhay Empire: Sonni and Askia dynasties; problems and achievements; administration and political centralisation; importance of Timbuktu; centres of learning; role of lawyers and clerics; Shari’a; the economy (including gold, salt, agriculture, trade, slavery, taxation); Islam and traditional religion; territorial expansion; nature and development of the military especially cavalry, jihad; reasons for decline of Songhay
Empire particularly succession crises, Civil War of succession and Moroccan Invasion (1591).

The Kingdom of Kongo
c.1400–c.1709

Situation in West-Central Africa in c.1400; reasons for rise of Kongo: Diego Cao and Portuguese contact, political and administrative centralisation, population change, trade and commerce, slavery, geographical position, territorial expansion; political, social, military and economic nature and development of the Kingdom of Kongo; the Kilukeni kanda
(dynasty); imperial structure and importance of Mbanza Kongo;
Nzinga a Nkuwu and conversion to Christianity; religious change and establishment of Kongolese Roman Catholic
Church; achievements of individual monarchs; political and administrative centralisation; ecclesiastical structures; territorial expansion; clientage; relationship with Portugal; trade and commerce; slavery; challenges in the 17th century and early 18th century; changing relations with European powers and First,
Second and Third Portuguese Wars (1622, 1641–1643,
1646–1649); succession crises and civil war (1665–1709), regional European expansion; relations with client kingdoms, impact and problem of slavery; Beatriz Kimpa Vita and
Antonianism.

2

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© OCR 2014
AS Level in History A

Key Topics

Content
Learners should have studied the following:

The Kingdom of Benin
c.1500–c.1750

Situation in coastal West Africa c.1500; reasons for rise of
Benin: relations and trade with Europeans, role of Oba Ewuare and Oba Ezuola, military factors, geographical location, trading routes and opportunities, introduction of firearms, slavery; the political, social, military and economic nature and development of the Kingdom of Benin; imperial structure and relationship between the Benin City State and the Empire; importance of the Oba, achievements of individual Oba, selection procedures, importance of ceremony and ritual, tribute, the Benin military
(structure, tactics, fortifications, key campaigns); material culture and cultural and artistic achievements; religion and the Olokun Cult; commerce and the economy, including trade with Europeans, especially Portugal; slavery; ivory; reasons for the beginnings of the decline of Benin from c.1700: European colonialism, slavery, changing patterns of trade & commerce, succession crises and civil wars, socio-political change.

AS INTERPRETATION TOPIC

The Kingdoms and Empires of Oyo and
Dahomey 1608–c.1800
AS INTERPRETATION TOPIC

© OCR 2014
AS Level in History A

Situation in West Africa c.1600; reasons for rise of Oyo and
Dahomey Empires and relationship between them – military/ cavalry, infantry/firearms, political change, the importance of individual rulers; political, social, military and economic nature and development of Oyo and Dahomey: role of the Alafin/
King; role of ceremonies and ritual; selection procedures; tax; tribute; imperial structure and relationship between city state and empire; religion and its role in politics and society including the Ogboni and the Oyo-Mesi (councillors) in Oyo; commerce
(African and with Europeans); slavery; reasons for the decline of Oyo and Dahomey including: Conquest of Dahomey by Oyo, political divisions and succession crises, military failures and independence movements in client states, economic changes,
European influence and impact of Trans-Atlantic slave trade.

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2

Unit Y240: Russia 1645–1741
Key Topics

Content
Learners should have studied the following:

Russia 1645–1698

Russia in 1645, social and economic backwardness, problems with the Tsar; personality and rule of Alexis, legalisation of serfdom 1649, church reform and schism 1649, growth of western influence and trade; rule of Feodor, Golitsyn and relations with the Boyars; accession of Peter and Ivan, 1682 and regency of Sophia, role of Streltsi; early life and upbringing of Peter at Preobrazhenskoe, his character and personality; attempted coup of Sophia 1689; direct rule of Peter and campaigns against Azov; embassy to the West 1697–1698.

The reforms of Peter the Great 1698–1725

Consolidation of Peter’s power, relations with Boyars, reform of dress and beards, Table of Ranks; modernisation of alphabet and calendar; reforms in central and local administration,
Senate, colleges, new provinces, fiscal reforms, municipal government; reforms of the Church; reform of army and navy; census of 1719; education; developments in industry and agriculture; position of peasants; St Petersburg.

2

AS INTERPRETATION TOPIC

Foreign Relations 1645–1725

Alexis’s relations with Zaporozhian Cossacks and Poland; influence of Golitsyn and expedition to Crimea; relations with
China and Treaty of Nerchinsk; Peter’s aims in the Baltic; war against Sweden, defeat at Narva, invasion of Ingria and Livonia;
Swedish invasion 1707; Turkish war and loss of Azov 1711; military successes in the Baltic and the Battle of Poltava and the Treaty of Nystadt 1721; reasons for Russian successes and consequences of territorial gains; Peter’s campaign in Persia and capture of Derbent and Baku.

Opposition and reaction
1645–1741

Revolt of Stenka Razin; resistance to westernisation; revolt and destruction of the Streltsi; the Old Believers; Mazeppa;
Tsarevitch Alexis; extent of westernisation by 1725; problems of
Russia in the reigns of Catherine I and Peter II, Anne and Ivan IV
1725–1741, the ‘German period’.

AS INTERPRETATION TOPIC

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© OCR 2014
AS Level in History A

Unit Y241: The Rise and Decline of the Mughal Empire in India 1526–1739
Key Topics

Content
Learners should have studied the following:

The foundation of the Mughal Empire and its rulers 1526–1556

India and Central Asia in the early 16th century; Babur, military successes and weaknesses of opposition, his conquests in
Afghanistan and the defeat of Ibrahim Lodi at Panipat in 1526; the nature of Mughal rule in India under Babur; wars and instability under Humayun (1530–1540 and the restoration
1555–1556); links between Humayun and Persia; the Afghan interlude (1540–1555); the Suri Dynasty under Sher Shah (Sher
Khan) and Islam Shah; administrative development.

Akbar the Great 1556–1605
AS INTERPRETATION TOPIC

2

The accession of Akbar, his personality and rule of the emperor
Akbar; relations with the Rajput kingdoms; religious policy; economic developments; military achievements, including the second battle of Panipat 1566; territorial gains; the development of administration of the Empire; cultural and artistic developments.

Jahangir and Shah Jahan
1605–1658

Personalities and rule of Jahangir and Shah Jahan; Persian influences and court ceremonial; Mughal architecture, including the Taj Mahal, the Red Fort and the Moti Masjid; the Deccan; the coming of, and Mughal relations with the British; the struggle for the succession and civil wars 1657–1658 between
Shah Jahan’s sons; the triumph of Aurangzeb.

Rule and decline 1658–1739

The personality and rule of Aurangzeb; religious policies; the resurgence of the Maharatas, conflicts in the Deccan and their consequences; campaigns in Bijapour and Golconda; foreign relations; administrative reforms and the growth of revenue; conflicts with Sikhs; decline after 1707 and Aurangzeb’s responsibility; the dynastic conflicts after his death; weak leaders after 1707, loss of lands and the invasion of Nadir Shah of Persia 1738, the battle of Kamal and the Sack of Delhi 1739.

AS INTERPRETATION TOPIC

© OCR 2014
AS Level in History A

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Unit Y242: The American Revolution 1740–1796
Key Topics
The development of British hegemony in
America

2

Content
Learners should have studied the following:
British, French and Spanish colonies in North America in 1740; socio-economic development and relations with settlers and
Native American Indians; territorial expansion to 1765; wars with France, reasons for British Success including War of
Austrian Succession, Seven Years War.

Causes of the American Revolution

The relationship between Britain and the colonies in 1763;
British policy and America reaction including Proclamation Act
(1763), Stamp Act (1765), Declaratory Act (1766), Townshend
Duties (1767) and their repeal, the Boston Massacre (1770); Tea
Act (1773) and response including the ‘Intolerable Acts’ (1774–
1775); developments in political thought and emerging leaders, including Locke, Jefferson, Dickinson, John Adams and Samuel
Adams; colonial and political ideas including views on trade and taxation. AS INTERPRETATION TOPIC

The American Revolution
1774–1783

The move towards independence, 1774–1776 including the first and second Continental Congresses, Declaration of
Independence (1776); outbreak of hostilities, key military developments, their role in British defeat; American unity, including Washington, French entry to the war, quality of British military leadership; 1783 Peace of Paris.

The early Republic 1783–1796

Move towards the creation of a constitution and challenges faced; Articles of Confederation; relations with Britain, Spain and France, economic problems, civil disobedience, Shay’s rebellion 1786–1787, 1787 Philadelphia Convention; nature of the 1787 Constitution of the United States; struggle for ratification, divisions between Federalists and Anti-Federalists; formation of the first government (1789), Washington and the
Executive; 1791 Bill of Rights; the problem of finding a successor to Washington in 1796.

AS INTERPRETATION TOPIC

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© OCR 2014
AS Level in History A

Unit Y243: The French Revolution and the rule of Napoleon 1774–1815
Key Topics

Content
Learners should have studied the following:

The causes of the French Revolution from
1774 and the events of 1789

The structure of the Ancien Régime; qualities of Louis XVI as
King of France; financial problems and attempts by Turgot,
Necker and Calonne to deal with them; the ideas of the
Enlightenment and the impact of the American Revolution and the War of Independence; social discontents; economic problems from 1787; the Assembly of Notables and the political developments 1787–May 1789; the Estates General, events in
Paris in 1789; the ‘Great Fear’; the October Days.

AS INTERPRETATION TOPIC

The Revolution from October 1789 to the
Directory 1795

The attempts to establish a constitutional monarchy; reforms in church and state; the significance of riots and direct political action 1789–1792; the Jacobins; the flight to Varennes; the overthrow of the monarchy; the Convention and the Terror; the destruction of the Girondins; the ascendancy and fall of
Robespierre; the establishment of the Thermidorian Regime; the constitution of the Directory.

Napoleon Bonaparte to 1807

The career of Bonaparte to 1799: early life and character; his military leadership and reasons for success to 1799 including
Toulon, the Italian Campaign, Egypt, the weaknesses of the
Thermidorian regime and the coup of Brumaire in 1799;
Napoleon’s reforms as Consul, including the constitutional, legal, financial, educational changes; the establishment and nature of the Empire in France; nature of and reasons for military successes and failures after 1799: Marengo and the
War of the Third Coalition, including the battles of Ulm and
Austerlitz, Trafalgar.

AS INTERPRETATION TOPIC

The decline and fall of Napoleon 1807–1815

© OCR 2014
AS Level in History A

The Continental System and the war against Britain; the war in Spain; the Russian Campaign; Napoleon’s rule in France after 1807; the campaigns of 1813–1815 and abdication; the
Hundred Days; personal failings and reasons for fall.

47

2

Unit Y244: France 1814–1870
Key Topics

Content
Learners should have studied the following:

The reigns of Louis XVIII and Charles X
1814–1830

The legacy of the French Revolution and Napoleon in 1814; the first and the second restorations; the problems facing
Louis XVIII; the Charter; Ultras; liberal and reactionary policies,
Richelieu, Decazes, Villèle; the domestic and foreign policies of Charles X and his ministers; Charles X’s views on monarchy; social and economic problems; religious policy; Polignac; 1830 election; Ordinances of St Cloud; July Revolution.

The reign of Louis Philippe and the 1848
Revolution

Personality of Louis Philippe and the establishment, nature and problems of the July Monarchy; foreign policy, including
Belgium, Mehmet Ali Crisis, Tahiti, relations with Britain; domestic problems; Guizot; social and economic developments and problems; opposition: liberal, republican, Bonapartist and socialist criticism; corruption; long and short-term political, social and economic causes of the 1848 Revolution; the establishment of the Second Republic.

2
AS INTERPRETATION TOPIC

Domestic policy under Louis Napoleon
(Napoleon III)
AS INTERPRETATION TOPIC

Foreign and imperial policy
1848–1870

48

Election of Louis Napoleon; personality; aims and policies as president; Coup of 1851; domestic policy as emperor; economic and social policies, including railways, banking, free trade,
Haussman; army reforms; constitution, Ollivier and ‘the liberal empire’. Napoleon’s aims and ideas; attitudes to the Roman Republic; overseas colonisation; the Crimean War; Italy and relations with
Cavour; Mexico; relations with Britain; Napoleon III’s reactions to the Austro-Prussian War, Prussia and Germany 1867–1870; the Franco-Prussian War and the fall of the Empire.

© OCR 2014
AS Level in History A

Unit Y245: Italy and Unification 1789–1896
Key Topics

Content
Learners should have studied the following:

Italy 1789–1847

Italy in 1789; the impact of the French Revolution; Napoleonic
Italy; Italy and the impact of the Vienna Settlement; unrest and nationalism; the Carbonari; the revolutions of 1820–1821 and
1831; the influence of intellectuals and nationalist movements, including Young Italy and different attitudes to unification; extent of support for nationalism.

The Revolutions of 1848–1849 and their aftermath AS INTERPRETATION TOPIC

The Risorgimento and the establishment of a new kingdom of Italy 1850–1861
AS INTERPRETATION TOPIC

Italy 1861–1896

© OCR 2014
AS Level in History A

2

Revolutions in Lombardy, Piedmont, Naples, Venice and Rome; role of Pope Pius IX and Charles Albert; the role of revolutionary leaders including Garibaldi and Mazzini; the reasons for the failure of nationalist and liberal protests; the results of the revolutions; the developments in Piedmont under Cavour and
Victor Emmanuel II.
The diplomacy of Cavour and his relations with Napoleon III; causes and results of the war of 1859; Garibaldi and the
Thousand and the expedition to Sicily; the role of Victor
Emmanuel Il Cavour and the enlargement of Piedmont; the constitution and nature of the Kingdom of Italy.
Piedmontisation 1861–1870; further attempts at unification;
Brigands’ War and the policies of the new Italy; the impact of
Prussia’s wars against Austria and France 1866–1871 on Italy; the degree of unity in 1871; social and economic problems; the Mezzogiorno; relations with the Church; the policies of
Transformismo; Italy’s relations with the other European powers; colonial expansion.

49

Unit Y246: The USA in the 19th Century: Westward expansion and Civil War 1803–c.1890
Key Topics

Content
Learners should have studied the following:

Westward expansion; causes and impacts

The factors which contributed to the opening up of the West
e.g. exploration, fur trade, cattle, mining and farming, gold, trails, roads (e.g. Cumberland Road), steamboats, railways, telegraph, the Mormons, settlers (including push and pull factors), ‘manifest destiny’, opportunities, incentives and escape; the impact of the Federal Government on westward expansion e.g. Louisiana Purchase, Florida, Texas, Oregon,
Gadsden Purchase, War with Mexico, admission of new states to the Union, Federal Government and communications, mail,
Homestead Act, Morrill Act, conservation; the economic, social, political, cultural impact of westward expansion.

AS INTERPRETATION TOPIC

2

Native Americans

Nature and diversity of Native American society in the early
19th Century; Tecumseh’s Confederacy; First Seminole War and other ‘wars’; Jackson and the Indian Removal Act; Bureau of Indian Affairs; treaties and the ‘Indian Wars’ of 1860s/70s; resources e.g. gold and actions of settlers, Dawes Act and
Americanisation; reasons for destruction of Native American societies. The growth of sectional tension 1850–1861

Main differences between North and South by 1850 including the breakdown of the Missouri Compromise; sectionalism; the issues of slavery and westward expansion as they developed in the 1850s including 1850 Compromise, Kansas-Nebraska, Dred
Scott, John Brown, Lincoln and the Republican Party; election of 1860; secession and the failure of compromise; reasons for outbreak of hostilities.

AS INTERPRETATION TOPIC

The Civil War

50

Leadership in the North and South during the Civil War;
Lincoln and the Union, character, appointments, relations with ministers, organisation of war effort, Emancipation
Proclamation, election of 1864; Davis and Confederacy, character, appointments, relations with ministers, states, organisation of war effort; reasons for Union victory including effectiveness of McClellan, Grant and Lee as military commanders; resources; morale; strategies; the significance of major campaigns and battles including Antietam, Shiloh,
Vicksburg, Gettysburg, the march through Georgia, Wilderness
Campaign; naval blockade; international situation.

© OCR 2014
AS Level in History A

Unit Y247: Japan 1853–1937
Key Topics

Content
Learners should have studied the following:

The impact of foreign intrusion on
Togukawa Japan 1853–1868

Japanese society and state in the late Tokugawa period; peasant unrest and social tensions, disease and inflation; the impact of the arrival of US force under Perry 1853 and the unequal treaties, including France and Russia, of 1858; resistance to the Shogunate; civil war, the end of the Shogunate and the restoration of the Emperor Meiji in 1868.

Westernization and nationalism in Meiji
Japan 1868–1912
AS INTERPRETATION TOPIC

Nature of change and emergence of Japan as a major power; ending of the power of the Samurai and changes in taxation, government and the army; economic and social change; industrial growth e.g. coal, silk and railways; growth of large businesses; naval development; the 1889 Constitution; educational change.

Foreign relations and overseas expansion
1868–1920

Population pressure and imperial ambitions; annexation of the Ryukyu Islands 1875 and greater control over Northern territories; ambitions in Korea; the causes, course and results of the Sino-Japanese War 1894–1895, acquisition of Taiwan; participation in international action in China; the alliance with
Britain; relations with Russia and the Russo-Japanese War
1904–1905; relations with the USA; participation in the First
World War; the 21 Demands; the Siberian expedition; the Treaty of Versailles and resentments; the Washington Conference.

The growth of nationalism in Japan
1920–1937

Radicalism and repression in post-war Japan; the 1923 earthquake; social change and electoral reform 1925 and growing police powers; the rise of nationalism; resentment about western influences; Ikki Kita; the growth of emperor worship after the accession of Hirohito in 1926; the impact of the Great Depression on Japan; the development of militarism and ideas of pan-Asianism: the Manchuria incident 1931 and its effects, the coup of 1936; increasing military influence over
Imperial policy making and the outbreak of war against China in
1937.

AS INTERPRETATION TOPIC

© OCR 2014
AS Level in History A

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2

Unit Y248: International Relations 1890–1941
Key Topics

Content
Learners should have studied the following:

The causes and nature of the First World
War

Nationalism, imperialism, militarism, war plans and navies, the Alliances and Ententes; the Anglo-German naval race; the Moroccan and Balkan Crises and the July crisis; aims and policies of Germany, Austria-Hungary, France, Russia and Great
Britain; the nature of the war; main events on the Western
Front, trench warfare; the war on the Eastern Front; the role of the generals; the role of technology, naval and air warfare; the entry of the USA; the reasons for the outcome on Western and
Eastern fronts.

AS INTERPRETATION TOPIC

2
The Paris Peace Conference, the League of
Nations and international diplomacy
1919–1935

Aims and motives of the ‘Big Four’; the terms and impact of the
Peace Treaties (Versailles, St Germain, Trianon, Neuilly, Sèvres and Lausanne), the reaction in Germany; the reasons for and nature of the League of Nations; the activities of the League of
Nations and its response to international and social problems,
1920–1935, including Corfu Incident, Greek-Bulgarian war,
Manchuria and Abyssinia; the Conference of Ambassadors; disarmament, the Washington and London Naval Agreements; the Locarno Treaties; the Kellogg-Briand Pact.

Dictators and Appeasers in Europe
1929–1941

The impact of the Great Depression on international relations;
Italian foreign policy 1935–1941; appeasement policies of
Britain and France; the Spanish Civil War and its impact on international relations; the relations between Russia and the rest of Europe to 1941, including the Nazi-Soviet Pact; the outbreak and expansion of war in Europe.

AS INTERPRETATION TOPIC

The Far East 1918–1941

52

The impact of the Treaty of Versailles on Japan; Japanese nationalism in the 1920s and 1930s, and Japanese aims in the
Far East; the impact of the Depression on Japan; the origins and impact of the Manchurian Crisis; the impact of the war between
Japan and China 1937–1941; policies towards Japanese expansion in the 1930s including those of Britain and the USA; the Japanese invasion of Indo-China and the outbreak of war between Japan and the USA in 1941.

© OCR 2014
AS Level in History A

Unit Y249: Russia 1894–1941
Key Topics

Content
Learners should have studied the following:

The rule of Tsar Nicholas II

Character, attitude and abilities of Nicholas II; political, economic and social problems of Russia in 1894; opposition, liberals, populists and Marxists; national minorities; the influence of Pobedonostsev, Witte; the Russo-Japanese War; the causes, extent, nature and consequences of the 1905
Revolution; Witte and the October Manifesto; the Fundamental
Law; the Dumas; repression and reform under Stolypin; the political, social and economic situation in Russia in 1914.

AS INTERPRETATION TOPIC

The 1917 Revolutions

The impact of the First World War 1914–1917, defeats, losses, economic dislocation, food shortages, transport problems, inflation; Nicholas’ leadership; Rasputin; criticism in the
Duma; the events of March 1917; Kerensky, the Provisional
Government and Petrograd Soviet; return of exiles and the April
Theses; July Days; Kornilov Revolt; events of November 1917; the roles of Lenin and Trotsky.

The Civil War and Lenin

The Constituent Assembly, Lenin decrees; Civil War, White forces, foreign intervention, Red Army, ‘war communism’, reasons for Bolshevik victory/White defeat; murder of the Tsar;
Red Terror, Kronstadt Rising; NEP; constitution and government; strengths and weaknesses of Lenin as leader.

AS INTERPRETATION TOPIC

The rule of Stalin

© OCR 2014
AS Level in History A

Character and abilities of Stalin; rivalries and divisions in the
Bolshevik party, Trotsky, Bukharin, Kamenev, Zinoviev; Stalin’s tactics and victory, ‘socialism in one country’ v ‘permanent revolution’; consolidation of power, propaganda and ‘Cult of Personality’, growth of police state (OGPU, NKVD, purges and gulags); economic policies in the 1930s, agriculture, kulaks, voluntary and forced collectivisation, mechanisation; industrialisation, Gosplan, first two Five Year Plans; economic, social and political effects of Collectivisation and Five Year Plans.

53

2

Unit Y250: Italy 1896–1943
Key Topics

Content
Learners should have studied the following:

Italy 1896–1915

Italy in 1896; political, social and economic problems, including the legacy of Trasformismo; industrial growth and its consequence, violence and strikes; Giolitti’s ministries; colonial conflicts including the war in Abyssinia and the Tripoli campaign; the challenges caused by irredentism, nationalism and socialism; foreign policy and the growing demand for war by 1915.

Italy 1915–1925

Early neutrality and subsequent entry into war; Treaty of
London; the conduct of war including the defeat at Caporetto and the victory at Vittorio Veneto; post-war problems including economic problems, industrial and agrarian unrest, political instability; the career of Mussolini; the ideas, appeal and support of Fascism; the weaknesses of the post-war governments, the mutilated victory, reactions to the Paris Peace conference and the seizure of Fiume by d’Annunzio; electoral pact 1921 and the March on Rome; the transition of Mussolini from prime minister to Duce; the Acerbo law and the murder of
Matteotti.

2
AS INTERPRETATION TOPIC

Fascist Italy 1925–1943
AS INTERPRETATION TOPIC

Foreign Policy of Mussolini
1922–1943

54

The Corporate State in theory and practice; propaganda and the image of the Duce; relations with the church; economic policy: the revaluation of the lira, agrarian policy; industrial policy; public works including railways and roads; social policy: education and youth policy, sport, Dopolavoro, policies concerning women and population; preparations for and domestic impact of war; Jewish policy in 1930s.
Aims of foreign policy; Corfu incident; Locarno and KelloggBriand Pact; policy towards Britain, France, Austria and
Germany including Stresa Front, Abyssinian War; Spanish
Civil War, Rome-Berlin Axis, Anti-Comintern pact, Munich
Conference, Pact of Steel; Albania; entry into Second World
War 1940; failures in Africa; Greece; allied invasion and fall of
Mussolini.

© OCR 2014
AS Level in History A

Unit Y251: Democracy and Dictatorships in Germany 1919–1963
Key Topics

Content
Learners should have studied the following:

The establishment and development of the
Weimar Republic: 1919–Jan 1933

Consequences of the First World War; impact of the Treaty of
Versailles; the Weimar Constitution; coalition governments; challenges to Weimar; Communist revolts; Kapp Putsch; Munich
Putsch; invasion of the Ruhr; hyperinflation; Stresemann and the ‘Golden Years’; Dawes and Young Plans, economic recovery, foreign loans, political stability, improvements to working and living conditions; the impact of the Great Depression; elections and governments 1928–1933; rise and appeal of Nazism, role of propaganda and Hitler; Papen, Schleicher and ‘backstairs intrigue’; Hitler’s appointment as Chancellor.

AS INTERPRETATION TOPIC

The establishment of the Nazi Dictatorship and its domestic policies Feb 1933–1939

Hitler’s consolidation of power; the Reichstag Fire, March
Elections and Enabling Act, Gleichschaltung, creation of the one-party state, Night of the Long Knives, army oath and death of Hindenburg; system of government and administration; censorship and propaganda, machinery of terror, including courts, SS, Gestapo; treatment of opposition; religious policies; economic policies, Schacht’s New Plan, Goering’s Four Year
Plan, public works, conscription and autarky; German Labour
Front; ‘Strength through Joy’; policy towards women; education and policy towards youth; racial policies to 1939; benefits of
Nazi rule.

The impact of war and defeat on Germany:
1939–1949

The war economy and Total War; impact of bombing; war and racial policies, the Final Solution; morale and rationing; opposition and resistance; consequences of the Second World
War; Cold War, Potsdam, division of Germany, Bizonia and developments in the Soviet Zone, currency and the Berlin
Blockade.

AS INTERPRETATION TOPIC

Divided Germany: The Federal Republic and the DDR 1949–1963

© OCR 2014
AS Level in History A

The creation of West Germany and the DDR; the Basic Law and constitution of West Germany; the 1949 election; the economic miracle; political and social stability; foreign policy, rapprochement with France, EEC, rearmament, NATO, policy towards USA and USSR, DDR; elections of 1953, 1957 and 1961;
Berlin Wall; Adenauer’s decline and the Der Spiegel Crisis of
1962; West Germany in 1963; the GDR in 1949; uprising 1953; economic change, land reform, collectivisation, nationalisation and heavy industry; social change, churches, Trade Unions, education and youth.

55

2

Unit Y252: The Cold War in Asia 1945–1993
Key Topics

Content
Learners should have studied the following:

Western Policies in Post War Asia
1945–1979

Decisions on Asia at Yalta and Potsdam; US policies: Kennan’s
Long Telegram 1946, the creation of Model States (occupation and reconstruction of Japan; independence in the Philippines and Roxas), US involvement with Jiang Jieshi, the reasons for the fall of China to Communism in 1949 and US reactions, defensive perimeter strategy 1949 and NSC-68 1950; US policy towards China and Taiwan 1949 to 1979 (including Nixon’s visit to China 1972 and the end of recognition for Taiwan 1979), the occupation of a divided Korea and UN involvement
(1945–1949); British policies in Malaysia: the Emergency
1948–1960 and independence 1963; the USSR’s influence in
Southeast Asia and her attitudes to China.

The Korean War 1950–1953 and its impact to 1977

Causes and outbreak of the Korean War; the aims of Kim Il Sung and Syngman Rhee; US and UN involvement in the war: Russian support for Kim, the Inchon landing, the UN crossing of the
38th parallel and advance to the Yalu river, Chinese intervention in Korea and its impact; reasons for Truman’s dismissal of
MacArthur; causes of stalemate 1951–1953; US public opinion; the changing nature of the war; difficulties in reaching a settlement; the outcome for the participants, the situation in
Asia in 1953; the creation of SEATO in 1954 and its failure to
1977; non alignment: the Bandung Conference 1955 and its development from 1961.

2

AS INTERPRETATION TOPIC

Indochina 1945–1967

56

French colonial government in Indochina; Ho Chi Minh and the rise of the Viet Minh; the battle of Dien Bien Phu (1954); the Geneva Conference 1954 and the division of Vietnam;
Eisenhower’s policies towards Indochina; Diem’s government of South Vietnam (1955–1963), its relations with Hanoi; formation of the NLF (1961), its impact; Kennedy’s policies towards Indochina (1961–1963), Diem’s assassination (1963);
Johnson’s policy: the Gulf of Tonkin resolution (1964), start of
US escalation of forces in Vietnam (1965); start of Operation
Rolling Thunder (1965).

© OCR 2014
AS Level in History A

Key Topics

Content
Learners should have studied the following:

Wars in Vietnam and Cambodia 1968–1993

The role of the US military in Vietnam; the Vietcong and guerrilla warfare; the Tet Offensive (1968); continuation of bombing campaigns; Nixon’s policies in Vietnam, Cambodia and
Laos, his relations with China, Paris peace talks (1967–1973); victory of North Vietnam and the fall of Saigon (1975) and the reasons why the USA failed to win the war; Cambodia: Sihanouk
1955–1970, reasons for civil war and North Vietnamese intervention; US bombing and the fall of the Khmer Republic
1970–1975; Pol Pot and Democratic Kampuchea (the Khmer
Rouge 1975–1978, Chinese Models, evacuation to the rural areas, anti-intellectualism, the Killing Fields and ethnicity);
Vietnamese invasion 1978 and its consequences (a People’s
Republic); the role of the UN; Paris Peace settlement
(1991–1993) and the creation of a Cambodian Kingdom.

AS INTERPRETATION TOPIC

© OCR 2014
AS Level in History A

57

2

Unit Y253: The Cold War in Europe 1941–1995
Key Topics

Content
Learners should have studied the following:

The origins of the Cold War to 1945

The situation in 1941, Capitalism and Communism and general attitudes in East and West; wartime tensions in the Grand
Alliance; conferences: tensions and difficulties at Tehran, Yalta and Potsdam; the ‘liberation of Europe in the East and West’; relations between Stalin, Churchill and Roosevelt (and later
Truman and Attlee).

AS INTERPRETATION TOPIC

2
The development of the Cold War
1946–1955

‘Iron Curtain’ speech; Soviet control of Eastern Europe including
Baltic States, Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Romania,
Greece, Yugoslavia; the Truman Doctrine and Marshall Aid;
Cominform and Comecon; conflicts over Germany including the
Berlin blockade and airlift; creation of West and East Germany;
NATO; the Warsaw Pact; atomic weapons.

The Cold War 1956–1984

The impact of the Hungarian Rising 1956, the Czech Crisis 1968 and events in Poland 1956 and 1980–1981; developments in
Germany, including rearmament of the Federal Republic and its inclusion in NATO and the Berlin Wall; the arms race; Space
Race; Détente, the SALT talks and Ostpolitik; Brezhnev Doctrine; the impact of the ‘new Cold War’ (1979–1985).

The end of the Cold War 1984–1995

Economic and social problems in the USSR and Eastern Europe; western influence; the pressure of the arms race; Gorbachev, glasnost and perestroika, Afghanistan, events of 1989 in Eastern
Europe; the coup of 1991 and Russia under Yeltsin; reunification of Germany; civil war and the break-up of Yugoslavia to 1995.

AS INTERPRETATION TOPIC

58

© OCR 2014
AS Level in History A

Unit Y254: Apartheid and Reconciliation: South African Politics 1948–1999
Key Topics

Content
Learners should have studied the following:

Establishing Apartheid

Political, social and economic conditions in South Africa and nature and extent of segregation in 1948; 1948 election and reasons for Nationalist victory, origins and nature of Apartheid and its development to 1954: Population Registration Act
(1950); prohibitions on mixed marriages and relationships; geographical segregation including Group Areas Act (1950),
Influx Control, Pass System and creation of Reserves; Petty
Apartheid and the Separate Amenities Act (1955); changes to education including Bantu Education Act (1955); Opposition and resistance to the Nationalist Government and the suppression of it 1948–54.

The development of Apartheid and growing resistance AS INTERPRETATION TOPIC

The collapse of Apartheid 1978–1989
AS INTERPRETATION TOPIC

A New South Africa 1989–1999

© OCR 2014
AS Level in History A

Reform and development of Apartheid under Verwoerd and
Vorster including Bantu Self-Government Act (1959): reasons for its introduction and consequences; impact and consequences of
Apartheid for Black, White and Coloured South Africans; nature, development and effectiveness of resistance to Apartheid in this period including Nelson Mandela, ANC, Biko and the South
Africa Learners’ Association, women’s groups, other forms of civil disobedience including anti-pass law demonstrations, boycotts and rural and urban protests, including Sharpeville
(1960) and Soweto (1976) and their consequences; nature, development and consequences of international opinions towards Apartheid.
Strengths and weaknesses of and threats to Apartheid by 1978;
PW Botha, Total Onslaught, Total Strategy and consequences of his reforms for National Party and White, Black and Coloured
South Africans; nature and development of opposition in this period: The United Democratic Front, ANC, Township Unrest,
Church leaders; international relations and international opposition to Apartheid; reasons for and consequences of the State of Emergency 1985–1990; reasons for, nature and consequences of de Klerk’s reforms; importance of FW de Klerk,
Nelson Mandela and other individuals in bringing about end of
Apartheid.
Political, social and economic conditions in South Africa in
1989; process towards and elections of 1994; the problem of violence; Government of National Unity and the role of Nelson
Mandela; Reconstruction and Development Programme and its effectiveness; development of new constitution and its consequences; Truth and Reconciliation Commission; unity through sport; social and economic developments including the problem of HIV/AIDS; international relations; election of 1999; political, social and economic conditions in South Africa by
1999.

59

2

2d. Prior learning and progression

2

No prior knowledge of the subject is required. The specification builds on, but does not depend on, the knowledge, understanding and skills specified for GCSE
History. It is recommended that learners have attained communication and literacy skills at a level equivalent to GCSE Grade C in English.
Learners in England who are beginning an AS course are likely to have followed a Key Stage 4 programme of study. This course will enable learners to progress to A level courses or combine it with vocational qualifications or progress directly to employment.

60

OCR’s AS level in History A provides progression to
A Level. A level examinations are available on the content from the two AS unit groups, meaning that the qualification is co-teachable with A level. The additional unit group 2 historical interpretations question is good preparation for work at a higher level as part of a history A level. At the same time, it also offers a worthwhile course of study for learners who do not wish to progress further in the subject.
The various skills required by the specification provide opportunities for progression directly into employment. © OCR 2014
AS Level in History A

3 Assessment of OCR AS Level in History A
3a. Forms of assessment
Unit group 1: British period study and enquiry

Unit group 2: Non–British period study

1 hour 30 minutes examination in two sections:

1 hour 30 minutes examination.

For Section A, learners answer two compulsory source-based questions, worth a total of 30 marks, on three sources related to a key topic from the Enquiry element of their chosen unit.

Learners will answer two compulsory questions:
The first is an essay worth 30 marks (candidates answer one question from a choice of two).

For Section B, learners answer one essay question on the Period Study element. This is worth 20 marks.

3

3b. Assessment objectives (AOs)
There are three assessment objectives in OCR’s AS
Level in History A. These are detailed in the table below. Learners are expected to demonstrate their ability to:
Assessment Objective
AO1

Demonstrate, organise and communicate knowledge and understanding to analyse and evaluate the key features related to the periods studied, making substantiated judgements and exploring concepts, as relevant, of cause, consequence, change, continuity, similarity, difference and significance.

AO2

Analyse and evaluate appropriate source materials, primary and/or contemporary to the period, within its historical context.

AO3

Analyse and evaluate, in relation to the historical context, different ways in which aspects of the past have been interpreted.

AO weightings in AS Level in History A
The relationship between the assessment objectives and the unit groups is shown in the following table:

Component
British period study and enquiry (Unit group 1)
(Units Y131 to Y143)
Non-British period study (Unit group 2)
(Units Y231 to Y254)

% of AS Level
AO1

AO2

20%

30%

30%
50%

© OCR 2014
AS Level in History A

AO3

Total
50%

20%
30%

50%

20%

100%

61

3c. Assessment availability
There will be one examination series available each year in June to all learners. This specification will

be certified from the June 2016 examination series onwards.

3d. Retaking the qualification
Learners can retake the qualification as many times as they wish. They retake all components of the qualification. 3

3e. Assessment of extended response
The assessment materials for this qualification provide learners with the opportunity to demonstrate their ability to construct and develop a sustained line of reasoning and marks for extended responses are

integrated into the marking criteria. All externally assessed units include the assessment of extended responses. 3f. Synoptic assessment
Synoptic assessment allows learners to demonstrate their understanding between different aspects of the subject. Synoptic assessment involves the explicit drawing together of knowledge, skills and understanding of different aspects of the AS level course. The emphasis of synoptic assessment is to encourage the understanding of History as a discipline.
Synoptic assessment tests the learners’ understanding of the connections between different elements of the subject. Synoptic learning is a feature of the AS qualification.
Synoptic learning can be demonstrated through

testing the learners’ understanding of the connections between different elements of the subject. Each unit requires the drawing together of different elements of knowledge and understanding about different aspects of the periods studied to reach conclusions involving the analysis and evaluation of sources or interpretations. The skills of making historical links and thinking as an historian are common to both units that the learners will complete. Therefore the approach and skill set that each unit fosters will be drawn upon in the other unit taken, even though the specified content is different. 3g. Calculating qualification results
A learner’s overall qualification grade for AS level in
History A will be calculated by adding together their marks from the two units taken to give their total weighted mark. This mark will then be compared to

62

the qualification level grade boundaries that apply for the combination of units taken by the learner and for the relevant exam series to determine the learner’s overall qualification grade.

© OCR 2014
AS Level in History A

4 Admin: what you need to know
The information in this section is designed to give an overview of the processes involved in administering this qualification so that you can speak to your exams officer. All of the following processes require you to submit something to OCR by a specific deadline. More

information about these processes, together with the deadlines, can be found in the OCR Admin Guide and Entry Codes: 14–19 Qualifications, which can be downloaded from the OCR website: www.ocr.org.uk

4a. Pre-assessment
Estimated entries
Estimated entries are your best projection of the number of learners who will be entered for a unit or qualification in a particular series. Estimated entries should be submitted to OCR by the specified deadline.

They are free and do not commit your centre in any way. 4

Final entries
Final entries provide OCR with detailed data for each learner, showing each assessment to be taken.
It is essential that you use the correct entry code, considering the relevant entry rules.
Final entries must be submitted to OCR by the published deadlines or late entry fees will apply.

All learners taking AS level History A must be entered for certification code H105.
All learners must also be entered for the two units they are taking using the relevant unit entry codes.
Unit entry codes for all units are given in the tables in section 2b.

Estimated grades
An estimated grade is the grade the centre expects a learner to achieve for a qualification. These are required at qualification level only – you do not need

to supply estimated grades for units. These should be submitted to OCR by the specified deadline.

4b. Accessibility and special consideration
Reasonable adjustments and access arrangements allow learners with special educational needs, disabilities or temporary injuries to access the assessment and show what they know and can do, without changing the demands of the assessment.
Applications for these should be made before the examination series. Detailed information about eligibility for access arrangements can be found in the JCQ Access Arrangements and Reasonable
Adjustments.

© OCR 2014
AS Level in History A

Special consideration is a post-assessment adjustment to marks or grades to reflect temporary injury, illness or other indisposition at the time the assessment was taken. Detailed information about eligibility for special consideration can be found in the JCQ A guide to the special consideration process.

63

4c. External assessment arrangements
Regulations governing examination arrangements are contained in the JCQ Instructions for conducting examinations. 4d. Results and certificates
Grade scale

4

Advanced Subsidiary qualifications are graded on the scale: A, B, C, D, E, where A is the highest. Learners who fail to reach the minimum standard for E will be
Unclassified (U). Only subjects in which grades A to E are attained will be recorded on certificates.

Units are graded on the scale a, b, c, d, e, where a is the highest. Learners who fail to reach the minimum standard for e with be unclassified (u). Unit results will not be recorded on certificates.

Results
Results are released to centres and learners for information and to allow any queries to be resolved before certificates are issued.

The following supporting information will be available:
••

raw mark grade boundaries for each unit

Centres will have access to the following results’ information for each learner:

••

weighted mark grade boundaries for the combinations of units taken by their candidates.

••

the grade for the qualification

••

the raw mark and grade for each unit

••

the total weighted mark for the qualification.

Until certificates are issued, results are deemed to be provisional and may be subject to amendment.
A learner’s final results will be recorded on an OCR certificate. The qualification title will be shown on the certificate as ‘OCR Level 3 Advanced Subsidiary GCE in History A’.

4e. Post-results services
A number of post-results services are available:
••

Enquiries about results – If you are not happy with the outcome of a learner’s results, centres may submit an enquiry about results.

••

for a learner is missing, or the learner has been omitted entirely from the results supplied.

Missing and incomplete results – This service should be used if an individual subject result

64

••

Access to scripts – Centres can request access to marked scripts.

© OCR 2014
AS Level in History A

4f. Malpractice
Any breach of the regulations for the conduct of examinations and non exam assessment may constitute malpractice (which includes maladministration) and must be reported to OCR

as soon as it is detected. Detailed information on malpractice can be found in the JCQ Suspected
Malpractice in Examinations and Assessments: Policies and Procedures.

4

© OCR 2014
AS Level in History A

65

5 Appendices
5a. Grade descriptors
Details to be confirmed by Ofqual.

5b. Overlap with other qualifications
There is no overlap with any other qualifications.

5c. Avoidance of bias
The AS level qualification and subject criteria have been reviewed in order to identify any feature which could disadvantage learners who share a protected

Characteristic as defined by the Equality Act 2010. All reasonable steps have been taken to minimise any such disadvantage.

5d. Examples of routes through the specification

5

Whilst planning your qualification you may wish to consider choosing topics based upon certain issues or themes. The following are suggestions as to how you might do this. Please note, this list is not exhaustive and there are many valid combinations of courses that

provide a coherent route through the specification. If going on to complete an A Level, you will need to use the specification creator tool on the OCR website to ensure that your full combination of A Level topics is valid for that combination.

Chronological Routes
Unit 1

Unit 2

Early Medieval

Y131 Alfred and the Making of England
871–1016

Y232 Charlemagne 768–814

Early Modern

Y136 England 1485–1558: the Early
Tudors

Y237 The German Reformation and the rule of Charles V 1500–1559

OR
Y137 England 1547–1603: the Later
Tudors
Modern

Y143 Britain 1930–1997

Y249 Russia 1894–1941
OR
Y251 Democracy and Dictatorships in
Germany 1919–1963

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© OCR 2014
AS Level in History A

Thematic Routes
Unit 1

Unit 2

Warfare

Y135 England 1445–1509: Lancastrians,
Yorkists and Henry VII

Y233 The Crusades and the Crusader
States 1095–1192

Religion

Y137 England 1547–1603: the Later
Tudors

Y237 The German Reformation and the rule of Charles V 1500–1559

Conquest/Expansion

Y132 Anglo-Saxon England and the
Norman Conquest 1035–1107

Y234 Genghis Khan and the Explosion from the Steppes c.1167–1405

Empire

Y133 England 1199–1272

Y235 Exploration, Encounters and
Empire 1445–1570

Rebellion/Unrest

Y138 The Early Stuarts and the Origins of the Civil War 1603–1660

Y243 The French Revolution and the rule of Napoleon 1774–1815
OR
Y242 The American Revolution
1740–1796

Nation Building

© OCR 2014
AS Level in History A

Y131 Alfred and the Making of England
871–1016

Y254 Apartheid and Reconciliation:
South African Politics 1948–1999

5

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Geographical Routes
Unit 1
East

Unit 2

Y141 Liberals, Conservatives and the
Rise of Labour 1846–1918

Y233 The Crusades and the Crusader
States 1095–1192
OR
Y234 Genghis Khan and the Explosion from the Steppes c.1167–1405

The United States of
America

Y142 Britain 1900–1951

Y242 The American Revolution
1740–1796

OR
Y143 Britain 1930–1997
Diversity Routes
Unit 1

Unit 2

Societal Diversity

Y139 The Making of Georgian Britain
1678–c.1760

Y239 African Kingdoms c.1400–c.1800: four case studies

Ethnic Diversity

Y131 Alfred and the Making of England
871–1016

Y247 Japan 1853–1937

Diverse methods of government Y143 Britain 1930–1997

Y243 The French Revolution and the rule of Napoleon 1774–1815

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AS Level in History A

Your checklist
Our aim is to provide you with all the information and support you need to deliver our specifications.
Bookmark ocr.org.uk/alevelhistorya for all the latest resources, information and news on AS and
A Level History A
Be among the first to hear about support materials and resources as they become available – register for History updates at ocr.org.uk/updates
Find out about our professional development at cpdhub.ocr.org.uk View our range of skills guides for use across subjects and qualifications at ocr.org.uk/skillsguides
Discover our new online past paper service at ocr.org.uk/examcreator Learn more about Active Results at ocr.org.uk/activeresults Join our History social network community for teachers at social.ocr.org.uk

Download high-quality, exciting and innovative AS and A Level
History resources from ocr.org.uk/alevelhistorya
Free resources and support for our AS Level History qualification, developed through collaboration between our History Subject Specialists, teachers and other subject experts, are available from our website. You can also contact our History Subject Specialists for specialist advice, guidance and support, giving you individual service and assistance whenever you need it.
Meet the team at ocr.org.uk/historyteam and contact them at:
01223 553998 history@ocr.org.uk @OCR_history

To stay up to date with all the relevant news about our qualifications, register for email updates at ocr.org.uk/updates History community

The social network is a free platform where teachers can engage with each other – and with us – to find and offer guidance, discover and share ideas, best practice and a range of History support materials.
To sign up, go to social.ocr.org.uk

follow us on

facebook.com/ ocrexams linkedin.com/ company/ocr @OCR_history

youtube.com/ ocrexams For staff training purposes and as part of our quality assurance programme your call may be recorded or monitored. ©OCR 2014 Oxford Cambridge and RSA Examinations is a Company
Limited by Guarantee. Registered in England. Registered office 1 Hills Road, Cambridge CB1 2EU. Registered company number 3484466. OCR is an exempt charity.

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