AQA A-level History · 2K

International Relations and Global Conflict, c1890–1941 (A-level only)

50 exam-style questions with answers for 2K International Relations and Global Conflict, c1890–1941 (A-level only) in AQA A-level History (spec 7042). Practise with flashcards, a topic quiz, a random quiz across the course, 5 crosswords, or read every question and answer below. Not official AQA material.

All 50 questions and answers

Question 1 · Spec 2K, Part one
Which Great Powers were autocracies c1890? [1 mark]
Answer:
Germany, Russia and Austria-Hungary, though Germany had an elected Reichstag.
Question 2 · Spec 2K, Part one
State two signs of Britain’s declining economic supremacy by 1900. [2 marks]
Answer:
Any two from: Germany and the USA overtook Britain in steel (1); slower industrial growth (1); dependence on old staples (1).
Question 3 · Spec 2K, Part one
What was the Franco-Russian Alliance (1894)? [1 mark]
Answer:
A military alliance between France and Russia against Germany.
Question 4 · Spec 2K, Part one
What was the Fashoda Incident (1898)? [1 mark]
Answer:
An Anglo-French confrontation in Sudan that France backed away from.
Question 5 · Spec 2K, Part one
What was the Kruger Telegram (1896)? [1 mark]
Answer:
The Kaiser’s congratulation to the Boers after the Jameson Raid, which angered Britain.
Question 6 · Spec 2K, Part one
What was the Anglo-Japanese Alliance (1902)? [1 mark]
Answer:
Britain’s first peacetime alliance, ending Splendid Isolation.
Question 7 · Spec 2K, Part one
What was the Entente Cordiale (1904)? [1 mark]
Answer:
An Anglo-French settlement of colonial disputes.
Question 8 · Spec 2K, Part one
What was the Anglo-Russian Entente (1907)? [1 mark]
Answer:
A settlement of disputes over Persia, Afghanistan and Tibet, completing the Triple Entente.
Question 9 · Spec 2K, Part one
What was the Algeciras Conference (1906)? [1 mark]
Answer:
It ended the First Moroccan Crisis with Britain backing France.
Question 10 · Spec 2K, Part one
Define the term ‘Panslavism’. [1 mark]
Answer:
The movement to unite Slav peoples, often backed by Russia.
Question 11 · Spec 2K, Part one
What was the Bosnian Crisis (1908–1909)? [1 mark]
Answer:
Austria-Hungary annexed Bosnia, humiliating Russia and Serbia.
Question 12 · Spec 2K, Part one
What were the Young Turks? [1 mark]
Answer:
Ottoman reformers who seized power in 1908.
Question 13 · Spec 2K, Part one
What was the Agadir Crisis (1911)? [1 mark]
Answer:
Germany sent a gunboat to Morocco; Britain supported France.
Question 14 · Spec 2K, Part one
What was the First Balkan War (1912–1913)? [1 mark]
Answer:
The Balkan League drove the Ottomans out of most of Europe.
Question 15 · Spec 2K, Part one
What was the Second Balkan War (1913)? [1 mark]
Answer:
Bulgaria attacked its allies and lost, strengthening Serbia.
Question 16 · Spec 2K, Part one
What was the Treaty of London (1913)? [1 mark]
Answer:
The Great Powers’ settlement of the First Balkan War, creating Albania.
Question 17 · Spec 2K, Part one
What was the July Crisis? [1 mark]
Answer:
The diplomatic crisis after Franz Ferdinand’s assassination that led to war.
Question 18 · Spec 2K, Part one
What was the ‘blank cheque’? [1 mark]
Answer:
Germany’s promise of support to Austria-Hungary in July 1914.
Question 19 · Spec 2K, Part one
Why was mobilisation crucial in 1914? [2 marks]
Answer:
Russian mobilisation triggered German mobilisation (1); the Schlieffen Plan required an attack on France through Belgium (1).
Question 20 · Spec 2K, Part one
Why did Italy join the Allies in 1915? [1 mark]
Answer:
The Treaty of London promised it territory from Austria-Hungary.
Question 21 · Spec 2K, Part one
Why did the Ottoman Empire join the Central Powers? [1 mark]
Answer:
It feared Russia and was tied to Germany, signing an alliance in 1914.
Question 22 · Spec 2K, Part one
Why did the USA enter the war in 1917? [1 mark]
Answer:
Unrestricted submarine warfare and the Zimmermann Telegram.
Question 23 · Spec 2K, Part one
What was Weltpolitik? [1 mark]
Answer:
Wilhelm II’s policy of making Germany a world power.
Question 24 · Spec 2K, Part one
What was the Anglo-German naval race? [1 mark]
Answer:
Competition to build Dreadnought battleships from 1906.
Question 25 · Spec 2K, Part one
State two features of the Austro-Hungarian Empire c1900. [2 marks]
Answer:
Any two from: multinational (1); Dual Monarchy (1867) (1); fear of Slav nationalism (1).
Question 26 · Spec 2K, Part one
What was the Russo-Japanese War (1904–1905)? [1 mark]
Answer:
Russia’s defeat by Japan, which turned Russian attention back to the Balkans.
Question 27 · Spec 2K, Part one
What was the Schlieffen Plan? [1 mark]
Answer:
Germany’s plan to defeat France quickly through Belgium before turning on Russia.
Question 28 · Spec 2K, Part two
What happened to the Ottoman Empire after 1918? [1 mark]
Answer:
It was broken up, with Arab lands becoming British and French mandates.
Question 29 · Spec 2K, Part two
State two of Wilson’s Fourteen Points. [2 marks]
Answer:
Any two from: self-determination (1); open diplomacy (1); freedom of the seas (1); disarmament (1); a League of Nations (1).
Question 30 · Spec 2K, Part two
What was the Treaty of Saint-Germain (1919)? [1 mark]
Answer:
The peace with Austria, which broke up the Habsburg empire.
Question 31 · Spec 2K, Part two
What was the Treaty of Sèvres (1920)? [1 mark]
Answer:
The peace with the Ottoman Empire, later replaced by the Treaty of Lausanne (1923).
Question 32 · Spec 2K, Part two
What was the Ruhr occupation (1923)? [1 mark]
Answer:
France and Belgium occupied the Ruhr over unpaid reparations.
Question 33 · Spec 2K, Part two
What was the Washington Naval Conference (1921–1922)? [1 mark]
Answer:
An agreement limiting battleship tonnage among the naval powers.
Question 34 · Spec 2K, Part two
What was the Treaty of Rapallo (1922)? [1 mark]
Answer:
An agreement between Germany and Soviet Russia restoring relations.
Question 35 · Spec 2K, Part two
What was the ‘Spirit of Locarno’? [1 mark]
Answer:
The improved international atmosphere after the Locarno treaties (1925).
Question 36 · Spec 2K, Part two
What was the Kellogg-Briand Pact (1928)? [1 mark]
Answer:
An agreement renouncing war.
Question 37 · Spec 2K, Part two
What was the Lausanne Conference (1932)? [1 mark]
Answer:
It effectively ended reparations.
Question 38 · Spec 2K, Part two
What was the World Disarmament Conference (1932–1934)? [1 mark]
Answer:
A failed conference that Germany left in 1933.
Question 39 · Spec 2K, Part two
What was the Manchurian Crisis (1931)? [1 mark]
Answer:
Japan invaded Manchuria; the League condemned it but did not act.
Question 40 · Spec 2K, Part two
What was the Abyssinian Crisis (1935–1936)? [1 mark]
Answer:
Italy invaded Abyssinia; weak League sanctions failed.
Question 41 · Spec 2K, Part two
When was the Rhineland remilitarised? [1 mark]
Answer:
March 1936.
Question 42 · Spec 2K, Part two
What was the Munich Agreement (1938)? [1 mark]
Answer:
Britain and France agreed Germany could take the Sudetenland.
Question 43 · Spec 2K, Part two
What was the Nazi-Soviet Pact (1939)? [1 mark]
Answer:
A non-aggression pact with a secret plan to divide Poland.
Question 44 · Spec 2K, Part two
What was Operation Barbarossa (1941)? [1 mark]
Answer:
Germany’s invasion of the USSR.
Question 45 · Spec 2K, Part two
Why did the USA enter the war in December 1941? [1 mark]
Answer:
Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, and Germany then declared war on the USA.
Question 46 · Spec 2K, Part two
What was the Dawes Plan (1924)? [1 mark]
Answer:
A plan reducing reparations and providing US loans to Germany.
Question 47 · Spec 2K, Part two
What was the Hoover Moratorium (1931)? [1 mark]
Answer:
A one-year suspension of reparations and war debt payments.
Question 48 · Spec 2K, Part two
What was the Stresa Front (1935)? [1 mark]
Answer:
Britain, France and Italy united against German rearmament.
Question 49 · Spec 2K, Part two
What was the Anti-Comintern Pact (1936)? [1 mark]
Answer:
An agreement between Germany and Japan against communism, joined by Italy in 1937.
Question 50 · Spec 2K, Part two
What was the Tripartite Pact (1940)? [1 mark]
Answer:
An alliance of Germany, Italy and Japan.

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International Relations and Global Conflict, c1890–1941 (A-level only)

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