Mock Exams Flashcards
How important/significant was the hungarian uprising in 1956
Khrushchevs brutal response to Hungary demonstrated to satallite states that disloyalty wouldn’t be tolerated.
It showed the western powers that the USSR was still in control.
It reasserted the USSRs authority over the satellite states.
It destroyed any illusions in the west that Khrushchevs leadership signified a ‘thaw’ in the cold war?
Write a narrative account on the Cuban missile crisis
The Soviet Union saw Cuba as a fix to a key strategic problem – the USA had missiles close to the Soviet Union (UK), but the Soviet Union had no missiles close to the USA.
Cuba saw Soviet missiles as a great way to prevent the USA from invading Cuba, so in September 1962 Soviet ships carried nuclear warheads and missiles to Cuba.
In October 1962, US spy planes photographed the Cuban missile sites and the secret was out.
What was the importance of the Cuban missile crisis
The Cuban missile crisis was important because it forced everybody to face up how quickly a tense situation could become an absolute catastrophe. In the short term, efforts were made to diffuse tension and improve communication between the powers. In the long term, the crisis prompted new measures to bring the build up of nuclear weapons under control. Overall it was largely important because it led to better relations.
Consequences of the Cuban missile crisis
The Superpowers had almost gone to war: a war that would have destroyed much of the world. However, the crisis did lead to better relations:
- The ‘hotline’: to ensure that the two leaders could communicate more quickly and directly, a hotline telephone link was established between the White House and the Kremlin.
- The Limited Test Ban, 1963: both the USA and Soviet Union agreed to stop testing nuclear weapons above ground and test them underground as it caused pollution
What caused the cuban missile crisis
Increased tension over Cuba – USA lost hold – no longer had economic control as new leader Castro was loyal to Soviet Union
Write a narrative account on how Gorbachev’s new thinking led to the end of the cold war
In March 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev became the new General Secretary of the Soviet Union. Gorbachev attempted to reform and improve the Soviet Union. He approached this by:
Admitting the fault of the Soviet Union in past repressive actions.
Attempting to bring more capitalism into the communist economy.
Gorbachev inadvertently gave the citizens of the Soviet Union and the satellite states of Eastern Europe the power to speak out against their communist governments. This pressure resulted in the collapse of the Eastern Bloc in 1989-90 and the communist Soviet Union in 1991.
In 1985, the USA became more open to collaborating with the Soviet Union. Gorbachev’s reforms, or ‘new thinking’, seemed to move the Soviet Union away from communism. Even President Reagan, known for his hard stance against the Soviet Union, became determined to work with Gorbachev to end the Cold War. The leaders agreed to the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Force (INF) Treaty. A series of summits between 1985 and 1989 moved the USA and the Soviet Union towards peace.
Give an account that analyses the key events between 1985 and 1989 that led to the fall of the Berlin wall
You could mention
Mikail Gorbachev
The Brezhnev Doctrine
In 1985. Mikhail Gorbachev became General Secretary of the Communist Party and fundamentaly change Soviet policy. He created closer ties with US President Reagan, eo. at the Ceneva Summit in 1985. and began withdrawing Soviet troops from Afghanistan in 1988. This helped to reduce tensions between East and West, and brought hope that relations could improve further.
In 1998, Gorbachev abandoned the Brezhnev Doctrine, which had promised that the USSR would intervene in any country where communist regimes were threatened. This meant that countries in Eastern Europe no longer had to fear Soviet aggression if they chose to turn away from communism.
As a result Hungary felt it could open its border with Austria in May 1989 without fear of military consequences. This caused chaos for the East German government, as thousands of East Germans crossed the border to travel to West Germany. Public opposition to the government grew — in October 1989 there were anti-communist protests in East Germany. As the USSR was now unwilling to give support to struggling communist regimes, the government was forced to give in to public pressure, and opened the Berlin Wall in November 1989.
describe two features of the problems elizabeth 1 faced when becoming queen
Most people believed at the time that a man should be the monarch. They believed it was unnatural that a women should rule. Therefore because people believed women could not rule effectively, there was pressure on Elizabeth to find a husband that would produce a male heir.
She also had been declared illegitimate so many people questioned Elizabeth’s right for the throne
Describe two aspects of university education in early Elizabethan England
The sons of Elizabethan nobles could attend university from the age of 14 or 15. Elizabethan England had two universities at the time : Cambridge and Oxford. Universities did not allow noble girls to recieve university education
Why did the Revolt of the Northern Earls fail?
Northumberland and Westmorland’s revolt failed because:
The Spanish troops never arrived in Hartlepool
Elizabeth managed to raise an army of 14,000 men. This vastly outnumbered the rebels
Northumberland and Westmorland were poor military leaders. As soon as they heard the Earl of Sussex was marching towards them, they fled
The rebels were not unified on the plan. Some believed they were overthrowing Elizabeth, while others thought they were just freeing Mary, Queen of Scots
Elizabeth’s government did not panic. Her government prevented the rebels from capturing key areas such as York
Westmorland and Northumberland did not persuade the Catholic earls to rebel. Most English Catholics did not support or join the revolt
France, Spain and the Pope did not endorse the revolt
Explain why the Revolt of the Northern Earls was significant
The Revolt of the Northern Earls was the most serious rebellion of Elizabeth’s reign.
It posed a major threat to Elizabeth’s rule and showed the danger that Mary, Queen of Scots, represented as a rallying point for English Catholics.
News of the rebellion created widespread fear among English Protestants about Catholic plots and revenge. These fears were fuelled by memories of the harsh persecution of Protestants during the reign of Queen Mary I.
In 1570, Pope Pius V excommunicated Elizabeth. This was supposed to strengthen the revolt, but news of it didn’t arrive until after the rebels had fled. But the excommunication did make the Catholic threat seem more serious, because it meant that Catholics no longer had to obey the Queen and were encouraged to overthrow her.
Explain why the Northern Earls were unhappy with Elizabeth, leading them to rebel
Many northern nobles were still commited Catholics - wanted to see the restoration of Catholicism under a Catholic monarch. The arrival of Mary Queen of Scots gave them hope that Elizabeth could be replaced by Mary.
Elizabeth had confiscated large areas of land from the Earl of Northumberland and shared them between Northumberland’s main rival in the north and a southern protestant. Northumberland also angry that Elizabeth had claimed all the profits from copper mines discovered on his estates.
Elizabeth had reduced the power of the northern nobles and increased her control in the north. She did this through the council of the north which was controlled by southern protestants. Northern nobles deeply resented this.
The northern nobles blamed Elizabeth’s advisors for these policies. They believed some privy councilors had become too powerful and they wanted to remove them, replacing them with men who were more symathetic to their interests
Describe two features of the Ridolfi plot
The Ridolfi plot planned to assassinate Elizabeth, then marry Mary to the Duke of Norfolk and make her queen.
It was supported by the Pope, and by King Phillip II who agreed to provide troops a Spanish invasion.
Describe two features of the Throckmorton plot in 1583
The Throckmorton plot aimed to assassinate Elizabeth and replace her with Mary. The conspirators planned for an invasion of England by French troops, Financed by Phllip II of Spain and the Pope.
Give 3 points why the Catholic Plots posed a real threat to Elizabeth and 3 points why they did not pose as much of a threat to Elizabeth
Mary’s presence in England and her strong claim to the throne made the plots seem credible and meant that they posed a real threat to Elizabeth’s rule. Many people were afraid that they would be successful.
As the head of the Catholic Church, the Pope could rally support for the plots. For some Catholics, obedience to the Pope was more important than obedience to Elizabeth.
Foreign powers, especially France and Spain, were involved in the plots, so there was a danger they would lead to a foreign invasion.
However they had some Significant Weaknesses,
Elizabeth was a popular ruler and the conspirators lacked public support. As the failure of the Revolt of the Northern Earls had shown, there was little appetite in England for a Catholic revolution.
Philip 11 was reluctant to destroy his alliance with Elizabeth. As a result, his support for the Catholic plots was half-hearted - although he promised to help the conspirators, he rarely followed through on his promises.
Elizabeth’s informants, and later Walsingham’s highly efficient spy network, ensured that the plots were uncovered before they were fully developed.
