During the Cuban Missile Crisis, leaders of the U.S. and the Soviet Union engaged in a tense, 13-day political and military standoff in October 1962 over the installation of nuclear-armed Soviet missiles on Cuba, just 90 miles from U.S. shores. In a TV address on October 22, 1962, President John F. Kennedy (1917-63) notified Americans about the presence of the missiles, explained his decision to enact a naval blockade around Cuba and made it clear the U.S. was prepared to use military force if necessary to neutralize this perceived threat to national security.

Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre was a French lawyer and statesman who became one of the best-known, influential, and controversial figures of the French Revolution. As a member of the Estates-General, the Constituent Assembly, and the Jacobin Club, he campaigned for universal manhood suffrage, the right to vote for people of color, Jews, actors, and domestic staff

Whereas the French had more than 900 heavy guns, the British had barely half this number for a wider front. Additional handicaps were recounted in the History of the Great War Based on Official Documents (British Official History), which states that the problem that confronted British Commander in Chief Douglas Haig was, fundamentally, that of “storming a fortress…It must be confessed that the problem was not appreciated at G.H.Q. (general headquarters).” Instead, “the failures of the past were put down to reasons other than the stout use of the machine-gun by the enemy and his scientifically-planned defences.”

Battle of Agincourt, (October 25, 1415), decisive battle in the Hundred Years’ War (1337–1453) that resulted in the victory of the English over the French. The English army, led by King Henry V, famously achieved victory in spite of the numerical superiority of its opponent.

The name the Hundred Years’ War has been used by historians since the beginning of the nineteenth century to describe the long conflict that pitted the kings and kingdoms of France and England against each other from 1337 to 1453. Two factors lay at the origin of the conflict: first, the status of the duchy of Guyenne (or Aquitaine)-though it belonged to the kings of England, it remained a fief of the French crown, and the kings of England wanted independent possession; second, as the closest relatives of the last direct Capetian king (Charles IV, who had died in 1328), the kings of England from 1337 claimed the crown of France.

On July 14th 1789, a crowd of several thousand people laid siege to the Bastille, a royal fortress, prison and armoury in eastern Paris. After a standoff of several hours, they gained access to the Bastille, overwhelmed its guards and murdered its governor. The fall of the Bastille was chiefly symbolic. The French Revolution would have days of greater political significance. Despite this, the fall of the Bastille has shaped our perceptions of the French Revolution, giving us powerful images of an outraged people in revolution.

The main aim of this booklet is to exemplify standards for those teaching Cambridge International AS & A Level History 9489 and to show examples of very good answers. This booklet contains answers to Specimen Paper 1 – Questions 1(a), 2(b) and 3(b), which have been marked by a Cambridge examiner. Each response is accompanied by a brief commentary explaining its strengths and weaknesses of the answer. These examiner comments indicate where and why marks were awarded and how answers could have been improved. These answers should be considered in conjunction with Specimen Paper 1 and the Mark Scheme. The Specimen Paper and Mark Scheme are available to download from School Support Hub.

French Revolution, also called Revolution of 1789, revolutionary movement that shook France between 1787 and 1799 and reached its first climax there in 1789—hence the conventional term “Revolution of 1789,” denoting the end of the ancien régime in France and serving also to distinguish that event from the later French revolutions of 1830 and 1848.

The Enlightenment, also known as the Age of Reason, was a philosophical movement in Europe during the 17th and 18th centuries. At its core was a belief in the use and celebration of reason, the power by which humans understand the universe and improve their own condition. The goals of rational humanity were considered to be knowledge, freedom, and happiness.

With the decline and disappearance in the 19th and 20th centuries of monarchies based on hereditary descent, dictatorship became one of the two chief forms of government in use by nations throughout the world, the other being constitutional democracy. Rule by dictators has taken several different forms.

The outbreak of the English civil wars between royalists and parliamentarians in 1642 led to the execution of the English king, Charles I, on January 30th 1649. Horrified by this, hundreds of English royalists fled to Ireland to regroup. The English parliament was now encircled by threats from Scotland and Ireland. Both declared their loyalty to Charles Stuart (Charles I’s son), while England became a republic and appointed Cromwell as lord lieutenant of Ireland.

The English Civil Wars comprised three wars, which were fought between Charles I and Parliament between 1642 and 1651. The wars were part of a wider conflict involving Wales, Scotland and Ireland, known as the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. The human cost of the wars was devastating. Up to 200,000 people lost their lives, or 4.5% of the population. This was as great a loss, proportionally, as during the First World War.

In July 1642, England finally descended into civil war after years of political wrangling and empty promises between Parliament and King Charles I. The two sides had disagreed over money, religion, and how political power should be distributed. The opposing sides became known as the ‘Roundheads’ (Parliamentarians) and ‘Cavaliers’ (Royalists). During the early years of war, most Parliamentarians merely wanted to force the king to see the error of his ways and have some of his powers curbed by Parliament. It was not, as yet, an objective to abolish the monarchy.

Oliver Cromwell was born on 25 April 1599, his father was Robert Cromwell, a modest country gentleman, and his mother was Elizabeth Steward. Oliver spent his childhood in Huntingdon before attending Cambridge University for one year. Cromwell married Elizabeth Bourchier on 22 August 1620, and they went on to have seven children, the most famous being the eldest, Richard (b. 1626). In 1628, he represented a Cambridgeshire borough as a Member of Parliament.

Worksheet and PEE aregarding weapons of War

Between 1642 and 1651, armies loyal to King Charles I and Parliament faced off in three civil wars over longstanding disputes about religious freedom and how the “three kingdoms” of England, Scotland and Ireland should be governed. Notable outcomes of the wars included the execution of King Charles I in 1649, 11 years of republican rule in England and the establishment of Britain’s first standing national army.

Charles I was king of England, Scotland and Ireland, whose conflicts with parliament led to civil war and his eventual execution. Charles I was born in Fife on 19 November 1600, the second son of James VI of Scotland and Anne of Denmark. On the death of Elizabeth I in 1603 James became king of England and Ireland. Charles’s popular older brother Henry, whom he adored, died in 1612 leaving Charles as heir, and in 1625 he became king. Three months after his accession he married Henrietta Maria of France. They had a happy marriage and left five surviving children.

During the long reign (1558–1603) of Elizabeth I, England emerged as a world power and her presence helped unify the country against foreign enemies. Her reign is often defined in terms of her skillful diplomacy, her action on religious matters, and the defeat of the Spanish Armada, Her reign also saw a brilliant flourishing in the arts.

In November 1095, at the Council of Clermont in southern France, the Pope called on Western Christians to take up arms to aid the Byzantines and recapture the Holy Land from Muslim control. This marked the beginning of the Crusades. Pope Urban’s plea was met with a tremendous response, both among the military elite as well as ordinary citizens.

In the Middle Ages, the holiday began in earnest before dawn on Christmas morning with a special Christmas mass that signaled the official end of Advent and the start of the feasting season, which ran from December 25 through January 5.