History / Levels 7 and 8 / Historical Knowledge / Middle Ages and early exploration
Content description
One significant challenge and one development faced by the society that caused progress or decline
Elaborations
Vikings
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using a cause effect wheel, explain the decline of Viking power such as defeats in battle, the Battle of Stanford Bridge, treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte ending Viking raids in France, new colonies, changing climate and the spread of Christianity
Medieval Europe
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analysing the causes and effects of the Black Death in Europe and Asia
investigating living conditions in London in the fourteenth century, for example, the lack of sanitation, crowded housing; the extent of medical knowledge, for example, based on Hippocrates’ theory; and beliefs about the power of God, for example, that diseases were a punishment of God
mapping the origin spread of the Black Death (Asia, Africa, Europe) in the fourteenth century CE and The role of expanding trade between Europe and Asia in the Black Death
evaluating the long and short term effects of the Black Death on Asian, European and African populations, and conflicting theories about the impact of the plague. Other immediate and long-term effects of the Black Death, including labour shortages, peasant uprisings, the weakening of feudal structures, and increased social mobility
using studies of church records from the period to identify the effect of the Black Death on human populations and to consider the reliability of these statistics
using a graphic organiser to identify and describe short-term and long-term effects of the Black Death in Europe and draw conclusions about the severity over time
Ottoman Empire
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examining the significance of the Crusades in challenging Ottoman Empire and their responses to the challenge
analysing the causes and effects of the Black Death in Europe and Asia.
mapping the origin spread of the Black Death (Asia, Africa, Europe) in the fourteenth century CE and The role of expanding trade between Europe and Asia in the Black Death
evaluating the long and short term effects of the Black Death on Asian, European and African populations, and conflicting theories about the impact of the plague. Other immediate and long-term effects of the Black Death, including expansion of the Ottoman Empire, labour shortages, peasant uprisings, the weakening of feudal structures, and increased social mobility
categorising the effects of the Black Death on the Ottoman Empire using a graphic organiser to identify and describe the effects as either short-term or long-term and drawing conclusions about the severity of the Black Death
Angkor/Khmer Empire
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analysing reasons for the decline of the Khmer Empire
discussing theories about the causes and/or contributing factors to the decline the Khmer Empire for example, Tai invasions, economic decline as a result of Jayavarman VII’s building program, population growth and attempts to control trade routes, religious revolution through the rise of Theravada Buddhism, internal political tension, environmental challenges such as soil sterilisation, over-intensified land use, the development of an unstable climate such as drought and monsoons and the breakdown of Angkor’s water management system
Mongol Expansion
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analysing reasons for the decline of the Mongol Empire
analysing the causes and effects of the Black Death in Europe and Asia. The Black Death began in the densely inhabited Mongol dominions from 1313 to 1331. This disastrous plague devastated all khanates, cutting off commercial ties and resulting in the death of millions
Japan under the Shoguns
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examining the theories about the decline of the Shogunate, including modernisation and westernisation, through the adoption of Western arms and technology
describing internal pressures in Shogunate Japan, for example, the rise of a commercial class at the expense of the samurai, peasant uprisings such as Osaka 1837, and famine
describing the increasing exposure to Western technology and ideas, for example, the establishment of a naval school with Dutch instructors, the translation of Western books
evaluating the significance of the Meiji Restoration of 1868 CE that restored imperial rule to Japan
Polynesian Expansion
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investigating the way Polynesian societies used environmental resources (sustainably and unsustainably), including the extinction of the moa in New Zealand, the use of religious/supernatural threats to conserve resources, and the exploitation of Easter Island’s palm trees
researching the extinction of the moa in New Zealand as a result of hunting and habitat decline
explaining the significance of Rahui as a way of prohibiting the collection of resources, to ensure their sustainability
evaluating the evidence for theories about the deforestation of Easter Island (Rapa Nui)
Renaissance Italy
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explaining the causes and effects of the spread of Renaissance culture to the rest of Europe, and its legacy
outlining the spread of Renaissance culture to England, for example, the rise of literature through Shakespeare
Spanish Conquest
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using a fishbone to explain the conquest on the Aztecs or Incas as well as on the wider world, such as the introduction of new diseases, horses and gunpowder in the Americas, and new foods and increased wealth in Europe
outlining the effects of Spanish conquest on the Americas, for example, the spread of disease due to the lack of immunity; the introduction of crops such as maize, beans, potatoes, tobacco and chocolate from the Americas to Europe, the Encomieda system, mining
explaining the longer-term effects of conquest and colonisation on the indigenous populations of the Americas, for example, the unequal distribution of land and wealth, and political inequality, rise of the Spanish language
Code
VCHHK120
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