History & Geography Revision Guide

HISTORY THEMES

1. Causes of World War I (Contextual Overview)

European civilization.

Some historians describe the period 1914–1945 as a “Thirty-One Years’ War.”

Militarism

Militarism refers to the growing power of the military in politics and society.

Examples:

Germany

• Standing army ~870,000 soldiers
• Universal male conscription
• Powerful General Staff

Britain

• Naval supremacy strategy
• Development of Dreadnought battleships (1906)

Arms Race:

1906–1914

• German naval spending increased dramatically
• British naval spending increased to maintain two-power standard

Military planning:

Schlieffen Plan

• Designed to prevent a two-front war
• Strategy: defeat France quickly (6 weeks), then move troops east against Russia
• Required invasion of neutral Belgium, bringing Britain into the war

Consequences:

• Military timetables became rigid
• Mobilisation often automatically triggered war

Alliance System

Europe was divided into two major alliance blocs.

Triple Alliance (1882)

• Germany
• Austria-Hungary
• Italy

Triple Entente (1907)

• France
• Russia
• Britain

Although alliances were originally defensive, they transformed local crises into global conflicts.

Example:

Balkan crisis → alliance commitments → European war.

Imperialism

Competition for overseas colonies intensified rivalries.

German colonies:

• Cameroon
• Togo
• German South-West Africa
• German East Africa

Major crises:

Moroccan Crisis (1905–06)

Germany challenged French influence in Morocco to test the Anglo-French alliance.

Second Moroccan Crisis (1911)

German gunboat Panther sent to Agadir.

Result:

• Britain supported France
• Germany diplomatically isolated

Consequences:

Imperial competition created distrust and rivalry between great powers.

Nationalism

Nationalism was particularly explosive in the Balkans, where the Ottoman Empire was collapsing.

Pan-Slavism:

Ideology promoting unity of Slavic peoples under Russian leadership.

Serbian nationalism:

Goal: Greater Serbia, including Slavic territories inside Austria-Hungary.

Immediate Cause

Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand 28 June 1914 – Sarajevo

Assassin: Gavrilo Princip Member of Black Hand, Serbian nationalist group.

Crisis escalation:

Austria-Hungary issues an ultimatum to Serbia. 23 July 1914

Austria-Hungary declares war. 28 July

Germany declares war on Russia. 1 August

Germany declares war on France. 3 August

Britain declares war on Germany. 4 August

2. End of World War I & Peace Settlements

Military Situation (1918)

Spring Offensive (March–July 1918)

Germany attempted a decisive breakthrough on the Western Front.

Initial success

→ but supply shortages and troop exhaustion halted the advance.

Hundred Days Offensive (Aug–Nov 1918)

Allied counterattack forced German retreat.

German Political Collapse

November 1918

German Revolution:

• Mutinies in navy
• Workers’ councils formed
• Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicated

Creation of Weimar Republic.

Armistice signed:

11 November 1918.

Treaty of Versailles (1919)

Major terms:

Territorial losses

• Alsace-Lorraine → France
• Eupen-Malmedy → Belgium
• Polish Corridor created
• Colonies → League of Nations mandates

Military restrictions

• Army limited to 100,000 soldiers
• No tanks
• No air force
• No submarines
• Rhineland demilitarised

Reparations 132 billion gold marks.

Article 231 “War Guilt Clause” — Germany blamed for the war.

Long-Term Consequences

Political:

• Weimar instability
• Growth of extremist movements

Economic:

Hyperinflation crisis (1923)

Social:

• Disillusionment with democracy
• Rise of nationalism

3. The Great Depression (1929–1939)

The Wall Street Crash of 1929 is widely regarded as the most severe crisis in the history of capitalism, triggering worldwide economic collapse.

Causes

Stock market speculation

Banks lending money to investors buying stocks “on margin.”

Banking system weaknesses

Many banks had insufficient reserves.

Overproduction

Factories produced more goods than consumers could buy.

Global financial interdependence

US loans supported European economies after WWI.

Economic Collapse

USA

1929 crash → bank failures → mass unemployment.

Unemployment peak:

25% in 1933.

Germany

• US loans withdrawn
• unemployment ~6 million (1932)

Industrial production dropped 40%.

Latin America

Commodity price collapse.

Exports fell 50–60%.

Japan

Exports declined → military expansion seen as an economic solution.

Political Consequences

Economic nationalism emerged:

Example:

Smoot-Hawley Tariff (1930)

• raised US tariffs
• worsened global trade collapse

Democratic governments weakened.

Rise of authoritarian regimes.

4. Totalitarianism in the 1930s

The 1930s saw a crisis of democracy, with the rise of regimes offering alternative visions of world order.

Nazi Germany

Hitler’s regime combined:

• total political control
• ideological racism
• aggressive expansionism

Key policies:

Nuremberg Laws (1935)

Stripped Jews of citizenship.

Rearmament

Violation of Versailles.

Rhineland Remilitarisation (1936)

No Allied response → emboldened Hitler.

Anschluss (1938)

Annexation of Austria.

Fascist Italy

Leader: Benito Mussolini.

Ideology:

• authoritarian nationalism
• corporatist economy
• anti-communism

Major expansion:

Invasion of Ethiopia (1935–36)

The League of Nations imposed weak sanctions.

Stalinist USSR

Policies:

Five-Year Plans

Rapid industrialisation.

Collectivisation (1928–33)

Forced consolidation of farms.

Consequences:

• famine
• millions dead

Great Purges (1936–38)

Approx. 700,000 executions.

Appeasement

Britain and France attempted to avoid war through concessions.

Reasons:

• trauma of WWI
• economic weakness
• fear of communism

Example:

Munich Agreement (1938).

5. World War II

The war became an ideological struggle between competing visions of world order.

Nazi war aims:

Lebensraum

Expansion eastward.

Racial empire

Aryan domination.

Grossraum economy

A single European economic system controlled by Germany.

Operation Barbarossa (1941)

Invasion of the Soviet Union.

War of annihilation against communism.

6. Origins of the Cold War (1945–1949)

After WWII, global politics became bipolar, dominated by the USA and USSR.

Key ideological divide:

Capitalism vs Communism.

Bretton Woods System (1944)

Created institutions to stabilise capitalism:

IMF

International Monetary Fund

World Bank

GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade)

These institutions aimed to prevent another global depression.

Key Cold War Policies

Truman Doctrine (1947)

US commitment to support countries resisting communism.

Marshall Plan

$13 billion aid for European reconstruction.

Containment

Strategy to prevent expansion of Soviet influence.

Berlin Blockade (1948–49)

The USSR blocked Western access to Berlin.

Western response:

Berlin Airlift

275,000 flights

2.3 million tonnes supplies.

7. Cold War Expansion

Korean War (1950–53)

North Korea invaded South Korea.

The UN (mainly the US) intervened.

China intervened on North Korea’s side.

The war ended with an armistice at 38th parallel.

Vietnam War (1955–75)

North Vietnam was supported by the USSR and China.

The US supported South Vietnam.

1975

Saigon captured → communist victory.

Cuban Missile Crisis (1962)

Soviet nuclear missiles placed in Cuba.

US naval blockade.

Closest moment to nuclear war.

8. Détente and Ostpolitik

During the 1970s Cold War tensions temporarily eased, a process called détente.

Key factors:

Nuclear parity between the USA and USSR.

Economic pressure on both blocs.

Ostpolitik

Policy developed by West German Chancellor Willy Brandt.

Goals:

• Improve relations with Eastern Europe
• Recognise post-WWII borders
• Reduce Cold War tensions

Major agreements:

1970 Moscow Treaty

1972 Basic Treaty between East and West Germany.

Impact:

• Stabilised Europe
• Facilitated East-West diplomacy.

9. Britain and Economic Crisis (1970s)

The 1970s saw stagflation:

High inflation + unemployment.

Causes:

• Oil crisis 1973
• collapse of Bretton Woods
• declining productivity

Major events:

Winter of Discontent (1978–79)

Mass strikes.

10. Rise of Neoliberalism

Neoliberalism emerged as a reaction against Keynesian economics.

Key figures:

Margaret Thatcher (UK)

Ronald Reagan (USA)

Policies:

• deregulation
• privatisation
• reduction of unions
• monetarism

11. End of the Cold War

Major factors:

Economic stagnation in the USSR.

Arms race pressures.

Reforms by Mikhail Gorbachev:

Glasnost (openness)

Perestroika (economic reform)

1987 INF Treaty

Nuclear weapons reduction.

1989 Fall of the Berlin Wall.

1991 Collapse of USSR.

GEOGRAPHY / DEVELOPMENT THEMES

1. Globalisation

Globalisation refers to increasing global integration of economies, cultures and politics.

Key drivers:

Technology

Trade liberalisation

Transnational corporations.

Examples:

Apple

Samsung

Nestlé

New International Division of Labour

Manufacturing shifts to low-wage economies:

China

Vietnam

Bangladesh.

Special Economic Zones

Areas offering:

• tax incentives
• infrastructure
• reduced regulation

Examples:

Shenzhen (China)

Maquiladoras (Mexico)

Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam).

2. Nigeria Case Study

Population:

~220 million.

GDP:

~$500 billion.

Economic structure:

Oil exports ~90% of exports.

Challenges:

• corruption
• regional inequality
• weak electricity infrastructure.

Security issues:

Boko Haram insurgency.

Development projects:

Lagos tech hub “Yabacon Valley”.

3. Democratic Republic of Congo

Rich in:

• cobalt
• copper
• diamonds

But suffers from resource curse.

Problems:

civil wars

corruption

weak infrastructure.

Human Development Index:

0.574.

4. Global Development Trends

Remittances:

~$600 billion globally.

Microfinance:

Grameen Bank loans support women entrepreneurs.

Environmental impact:

Industrialisation → rising CO₂ emissions.