GCE Advanced Level (A-Levels) History Syllabus

What is 'mercantilism'?

An early-modern economic theory holding that national wealth is fixed and measured by holdings of bullion, so states should maximise exports, minimise imports and acquire colonies to achieve a favourable balance of trade.

In demographic history, what is the difference between the 'birth rate' and the 'mortality (death) rate'?

The birth rate is the number of live births per 1,000 of the population per year, while the mortality rate is the number of deaths per 1,000 of the population per year; the gap between them drives natural population change.

What is 'social mobility'?

The ability of individuals or groups to move between social classes or status positions, either upward or downward, within a society over their lifetime or across generations.

Define a 'standard of living' and how historians measure it.

The level of material wellbeing of a population, measured through indicators such as real wages, diet, housing, life expectancy, and access to goods and services.

What characterises a period of 'crisis' in historical terms?

A period of acute instability and stress in which existing structures are severely threatened—often marked by war, economic collapse, political breakdown or social upheaval—creating pressure for major change or collapse.

Distinguish between the 'short-term' and 'long-term' causes of a crisis.

Long-term causes are underlying structural conditions that build up over time and make crisis likely; short-term causes are immediate triggers or catalysts that precipitate the crisis at a particular moment.

What is the difference between a 'trigger' (catalyst) and an 'underlying cause' of an event?

An underlying cause is a deep, pre-existing condition creating the potential for the event, while a trigger is the immediate spark that sets the event in motion at a specific point in time.

Define 'transformation' as distinct from mere 'crisis'.

Transformation is a fundamental and lasting reshaping of a society's structures and character; a crisis is a moment of acute danger that may or may not result in transformation, since order can also be restored.

What is meant by 'contingency' in explaining whether a crisis leads to transformation?

Contingency is the idea that outcomes depend on chance events, specific decisions or circumstances that could have turned out differently, rather than being inevitable or wholly determined by structural forces.

Define 'ideology' in historical analysis.

A coherent system of ideas, beliefs and values that explains how society should be organised and provides a programme for political or social action.

Distinguish between 'liberalism' and 'conservatism' as ideologies.

Liberalism emphasises individual liberty, constitutional government, rights and reform, while conservatism emphasises tradition, established institutions, gradual change and social order/hierarchy.

What is 'nationalism' as a belief system?

The ideology that a people sharing a common identity (language, culture, history or ethnicity) constitute a nation that should have political self-determination, typically through its own sovereign state.

Define 'socialism' and distinguish it from 'communism'.

Socialism advocates collective or state ownership of the means of production and distribution to achieve greater equality; communism is a revolutionary form aiming at a classless, stateless society with common ownership of all property, associated with Marxism.

What is 'secularisation'?

The long-term process by which religion loses social, political and cultural influence, and institutions, values and authority become increasingly independent of religious belief.

Distinguish 'orthodoxy' from 'heresy' in the history of belief.

Orthodoxy is the body of doctrine accepted as correct by an established religious authority, while heresy is belief or teaching that contradicts that accepted doctrine and is therefore condemned by the authority.

What is the difference between a 'reformation' and a 'counter-reformation'?

A reformation is a movement to reform religious doctrine and practice (e.g. the Protestant Reformation), while a counter-reformation is the responding movement by the established church to reform itself and resist or reverse those challenges.

Distinguish between 'opposition' and 'resistance' to a regime.

Opposition is the expression of disagreement with a regime's policies or authority, which may be legal and peaceful; resistance generally implies more active, organised and often illegal or forcible efforts to obstruct or overthrow it.

What is the difference between a 'rebellion' and a 'revolution'?

A rebellion is an armed uprising against authority that seeks to challenge or remove particular rulers or policies, often failing or limited in aim, whereas a revolution succeeds in fundamentally overturning the existing political and social order.

Define a 'coup d'état'.

The sudden, often violent and illegal seizure of state power by a small group—frequently the military or a political faction—replacing the existing government without a broad popular uprising.

What is 'civil war'?

An armed conflict between organised groups within the same state or country, typically over control of government, territory or fundamental political and social questions.

Distinguish between a 'primary source' and a 'secondary source'.

A primary source is material produced at the time of the events under study by participants or witnesses (e.g. letters, charters, photographs), while a secondary source is a later account written by historians interpreting and analysing the past.

When evaluating a primary source, what do 'provenance' and 'utility' refer to?

Provenance is the origin of the source—its author, date, type and purpose—which affects reliability; utility is how useful the source is for answering a particular historical question, judged by both its content and its provenance.

What is the difference between the 'reliability' and the 'usefulness' of a source?

Reliability concerns how accurate and trustworthy a source's content is, while usefulness concerns how valuable it is for a specific enquiry—an unreliable or biased source can still be very useful as evidence of attitudes or propaganda.

Define 'bias' in a primary source and explain why a biased source is not worthless.

Bias is a one-sided or partial perspective that distorts the account; a biased source is not worthless because it provides valuable evidence about the viewpoint, motives and propaganda of the person or group that produced it.

What is a 'historical interpretation'?

A particular view, argument or explanation that a historian advances about the past, shaped by their selection of evidence, methodology, questions and sometimes their own context and assumptions.

Why do historians produce differing interpretations of the same events?

Because they ask different questions, access or select different evidence, apply different methodologies and theoretical approaches, and are influenced by the values and concerns of their own time and place.

What is the difference between a 'historiographical' debate and a 'factual' disagreement?

A factual disagreement is about what actually happened (matters of evidence), whereas a historiographical debate is about how the past should be interpreted, explained or weighted—a difference of analysis rather than of established fact.

In constructing a historical argument, what is the difference between a 'thesis' and 'supporting evidence'?

A thesis is the central claim or line of argument that answers the question, while supporting evidence consists of the specific facts, sources and examples deployed to substantiate and prove that claim.

What is 'corroboration' and 'cross-referencing' when working with sources?

Corroboration is confirming a claim by showing that two or more independent sources support it; cross-referencing is the process of comparing sources against one another to check consistency, fill gaps and assess reliability.

What is the difference between 'plagiarism' and proper academic citation/referencing?

Plagiarism is presenting someone else's words, ideas or work as your own without acknowledgement, whereas proper citation/referencing explicitly credits the original source through quotation marks, footnotes and a bibliography, allowing the reader to verify it.