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VirginiaWorld History

Module 5: Revolutions, Industry, and Imperialism

6 dot points across 6 inquiry questions. Click any dot point for a focused answer with worked past exam questions where available.

What caused the Latin American independence movements, and how did leaders like Bolivar and San Martin win freedom from colonial rule?

Apply social science skills to understand the Latin American independence movements: the rigid colonial class structure and the resentment of creoles, the influence of the American, French, and Haitian revolutions and Enlightenment ideas, the weakening of Spain under Napoleon, and the leadership of figures such as Simon Bolivar and Jose de San Martin (WHII.11).
A standards-level answer on the Latin American independence movements for the Virginia World History SOL: the colonial class structure, the influence of the Atlantic revolutions and Enlightenment ideas, the weakening of Spain, and leaders such as Bolivar and San Martin, with worked exam questions.
11 min answer →

How did nationalism reshape nineteenth-century Europe, and how were Italy and Germany unified?

Apply social science skills to understand nineteenth-century nationalism and the unification of Italy and Germany: the Congress of Vienna and the spread of nationalism, the unification of Italy under leaders such as Cavour and Garibaldi, and the unification of Germany under Bismarck through realpolitik and war (WHII.11).
A standards-level answer on nineteenth-century nationalism for the Virginia World History SOL: the Congress of Vienna, the rise of nationalism, and the unification of Italy (Cavour, Garibaldi) and Germany (Bismarck) through realpolitik and war, with worked exam questions.
11 min answer →

What drove European imperialism in the late nineteenth century, and how did it affect Africa and Asia?

Apply social science skills to understand the impact of European imperialism in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries: the economic, political, and ideological motives, the domination of Africa and Asia (the Scramble for Africa, British India, French Indochina), and the responses and resistance of colonized peoples (WHII.12).
A standards-level answer on the age of imperialism for the Virginia World History SOL: the economic, political, and ideological motives, the European domination of Africa and Asia, and the responses and resistance of colonized peoples, with worked exam questions.
12 min answer →

How did the Industrial Revolution transform economies and societies, and what reforms and ideologies did it produce?

Apply social science skills to understand the Industrial Revolution: its origins in Britain, the new technologies and the factory system, the social and economic effects including urbanization, child labor, and the rise of the middle class, and the responses including labor unions and the ideas of capitalism and socialism (WHII.9 and WHII.10).
A standards-level answer on the Industrial Revolution for the Virginia World History SOL: its origins in Britain, the factory system and new technology, the social and economic effects such as urbanization and child labor, and the responses including labor unions, capitalism, and socialism, with worked exam questions.
12 min answer →

Why did revolution come to Russia in 1917, and how did the Bolsheviks create the first communist state?

Apply social science skills to understand the Russian Revolution: the causes including the hardships of World War I and the weakness of the czarist government, the 1917 revolutions, the Bolshevik seizure of power under Lenin, and the creation of the Soviet Union as the first communist state (WHII.14).
A standards-level answer on the Russian Revolution for the Virginia World History SOL: the causes including World War I and czarist weakness, the 1917 revolutions, Lenin and the Bolsheviks, and the creation of the Soviet Union as the first communist state, with worked exam questions.
11 min answer →

What caused World War I, how was it fought, and what were its consequences?

Apply social science skills to understand the causes and effects of World War I: the long-term causes of militarism, alliances, imperialism, and nationalism (MAIN) and the immediate cause of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the new technology of total war, and the consequences including the collapse of empires, the Treaty of Versailles, and the League of Nations (WHII.13).
A standards-level answer on World War I for the Virginia World History SOL: the long-term causes (militarism, alliances, imperialism, nationalism) and the immediate cause, the new technology of total war, and the consequences including the Treaty of Versailles and the League of Nations, with worked exam questions.
12 min answer →