NCEA Level 2 History (90469) 2011 — page 1 of 13

Assessment Schedule — 2011

History: Examine how a force or movement in an historical setting influenced people’s lives, in an essay (90469)

Judgement Statement

This Achievement Standard requires writing an essay examining cause(s) and / or consequence(s) and / or event(s) related to a force or movement in history, and the influence on people’s lives of the force or movement. The criteria below are intended as guidance for making judgments, rather than as a prescriptive checklist.

Achievement / Achievement with Merit / Achievement with Excellence
NOTE 1: Thespecificgroup / individual must be identified by the candidate, either explicitly or implicitly
NOTE 2: While accuracy in evidence is desirable (eg dates, figures, statistics, quotes, names) this Standard is not assessing recall of specific details; candidates should not be penalised at any grade level unless lack of accuracy detracts from the examination of identity.
AS Criteria 2 CONTENT
One or more ways in which an historical force or movement (which may include related events) influenced a specific group and/or individual in their attempt to change the political and/or social situation in their country are described.
AND
AS Criteria 1 CONTENT
One or more consequences of these attempts are described.
Describing means a relevant idea is stated and followed up with some amplification. / One or more ways in which an historical force or movement (which may include related events) influenced a specific group and/or individual in their attempt to change the political and/or social situation in their country are explained.
AND
One or more consequences of these attempts are explained.
Explaining means describing and then making links as to:
- how/why the force/movement was influential on the group/individual and their actions
- how/why the consequences were linked to the attempt to change the political and/or social situation in their country / One or more ways in which an historical force or movement (which may include related events) influenced a specific group and/or individual in their attempt to change the political and/or social situation in their country are comprehensively explained.
AND
One or more consequences of these attempts are comprehensively explained.
Comprehensive means the essay covers a good range of relevant content and supports the description and explanation with mostly accurate facts
STRUCTURE
The historical information is organised in an appropriate essay format that could include:
  • an introduction and conclusion that make reference to at least one of the questions
  • evidence of paragraphing
  • Typically, a paragraph will open with a Key Idea (Topic) Sentence that reflects the question and signals what aspect of the candidate response will be covered in the paragraph body. Elaboration in the body will be supported by evidence (statistics, short quotes, dates, names etc)
/ The historical information is organised in an effective essay format that should include:
  • an introduction and conclusion that address both questions
  • structured and / or sequenced paragraphs with evidence of argument

Selected historical force or movement: Serbian nationalism

Selected topic or setting: Lead up to the assassination of the Austrian Archduke, Franz Ferdinand, and the subsequent outbreak of World War I

Specific individual or group challenging the government/rival power: Dragutin Dimitrijevic (of the Black Hand) or Black Hand (and/or other Serbian nationalist groups)

Ways in which an historical force or movement influenced a specific groupof people and/or individual to attempt to change the political and / or social situation in their country could include:

Serbian nationalism influenced those who belonged to the Black Hand (or other such nationalist groups) by focusing their shared sense of grievance against Austria-Hungary. It led more radical nationalists to use violence, and ultimately to assassinate the Austrian Archduke, Franz Ferdinand, in an attempt to create a crisis that would enable the overthrow of Austro-Hungarian rule and pave the way for the establishment of a pan-Slavic state.

  • While other European states such as Germany and Italy had unified in the 1870s along ethnic lines, Austria-Hungary seemed to be the main obstacle to Serbia’s similar goal.
  • Patriotic books and newspapers carried the same pan-Slav message, and were widely read. In addition, free education had been extended to more (male) children from the 1880s. A strongly nationalistic curriculum was taught. The basic geography textbook showed much of the southern Balkans as Serbian. History texts contained a similar message, and included tales of heroic martyrs who had killed, or were killed, for their country.
  • The ruling Serbian Royal Family was seen by many as being too weak in its dealings with Austria-Hungary. It seemed to many that the King had allowed Austria-Hungary to dominate Serbia’s economy since the 1878 Congress of Berlin. (By 1905, 84 percent of Serbian exports went to Austria-Hungary, and Austria supplied 53 percent of goods entering Serbia.) Anti-monarchy feelings intensified when in 1903 police fired on students who were demonstrating against King Obrenovic’s unwillingness to stand up to Austria-Hungary. That same year a group of young, nationalist Army officers lost all patience with the King: led by Dragutin Dimitrijevic (known as Apis, or ‘the Bee’), they killed the King. This act showed that nationalism had strongly influenced elements within the Army, and it showed that they were not under the full control of their senior officers.
  • In 1908 Austria precipitated the ‘Bosnian Crisis’ by annexing Bosnia and Herzegovina. Prior to this crisis, some five million Slavs were already living within the borders of Austria-Hungary. Even though Serbia had been granted its independence from Turkey in 1878, it was Austria-Hungary that had been granted administrative control of Bosnia-Herzegovina. This angered nationalist Serbs, who had hoped to see the uniting of the Slavic people there with those in Serbia. Relations deteriorated further from 1878 when Austria-Hungary began a programme of crushing by force the customs, language, religion and other Slavic ways of the people of Bosnia-Herzegovina. The annexation of Bosnia-Herzegovina outraged Serbian nationalists, not least because a further one million Serbs living in Bosnia-Herzegovina were now under full Austrian control.
  • After the Bosnian Crisis in 1908 a secret Serbian nationalist society – the Narodna Odbrana (National Defence) – was formed. It engaged in anti-Austrian political action and propaganda. A much more dangerous organisation was the very secretive ‘Black Hand’. It was organised in 1911 by Apis (‘the Bee’) from the remnants of those who had assassinated the Serbian King in 1903. The Black Hand aimed to overthrow Austrian rule and create a Greater Serbian state. To this end, it trained guerrilla fighters and saboteurs, and arranged political murders. It also infiltrated the Narodna Odbrana from where it was able to publish virulently anti-Austrian propaganda. (While few Serbs shared the Black Hand’s radical views, many were in tune with its general anti-Austrian position.)
  • After the first Balkan War, where Serbia almost doubled in size, Austria-Hungary was instrumental in having a new state – Albania – created between Serbia and the Adriatic coast. (Austria-Hungary was fearful that an expanding Serbia would be a threat to its own security, especially as Serbia wished to further expand by encouraging other Slavs to join with it.) Serbia, for its part, was outraged as it lost access to the sea. Sea access would have allowed Serbia to trade more freely, thus escaping economic domination by Austria-Hungary. In addition, sea access could have dramatically increased Serbia’s power through allowing it develop a Navy, bringing its pan-Slavic goal closer to realisation. Consequently, Austro-Serbian relations deteriorated even further.
  • Finally, the date of the Austrian Archduke’s visit – 28 June, the anniversary of Serbia’s defeat by Turkey in the 14th century – was extremely provocative to Serbian nationalists. Black Hand was determined to respond to this provocation.

Consequences of these attempts to change the political and / or social situation in the country could include:

Austria-Hungary’s actions:

  • Austria-Hungary was outraged and was determined to crush Serbian nationalism once and for all by striking at Serbia itself. The Austrian government sought backing from Germany (the ‘blank cheque’) as it did not wish to risk war alone against Russia, should Russia make good on its guarantee to defend Serbia if it was attacked.
  • An extremely harsh ultimatum was sent to Serbia on July 23rd 1914. The Serbian government had not backed the actions of the ‘Black Hand’ and, in order to avoid war, agreed to most of the terms, except the one that would have extended Austrian control deep into the heart of the Serbian government: “This cannot be accepted, as this is a violation of the constitution and of criminal procedure.” Serbia also suggested that the International Court at The Hague or the Great Powers could be called upon to intervene. This did not satisfy Austria-Hungary, who really wanted war in order to crush Serbia’s pan-Slavic aspirations.
  • Despite efforts by Britain to negotiate a settlement, on 28 July 1914 Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia.

The Alliance System:

  • Encouraged by French assurances of support, Russia mobilised its troops in support of Serbia, despite a flurry of urgent telegrams between Germany and Russia (the ‘Willy-Nicky’ telegrams). Russia was determined that it would not let Serbia down, or back down itself, as it had done through lack of military preparedness after the 1908 Bosnian Crisis.
  • In accordance with the Schlieffen Plan (which required the defeat of France within six weeks using 90% of Germany’s military strength, in order that Germany’s full military might could then be turned on Russia), Germany mobilised in preparation for its pre-emptive attack on France. Ultimatums were issued by Germany to Russia demanding that it demobilise, and to France demanding that it remain neutral. In response, France mobilised.
  • Germany subsequently invaded Luxembourg and neutral Belgium (whose neutrality was guaranteed by the Treaty of London) in order to attack France. Belgian troops put up unexpectedly stiff resistance. Britain’s commitment to Belgium left Britain with no option but to enter the war too. In all likelihood, Britain’s commitments to France and Russia through the Triple Entente, and its concern about a Europe dominated by a victorious Germany, would have seen it enter the war anyway. Russia surprised Germany with the speed of its attack on East Prussia. The Great War had begun.

Selected historical force or movement: Vietnamese nationalism (communist-influenced)

Selected topic or setting: First Indo-China War.

Specific individual or group challenging the government/rival power: Ho Chi Minh/Viet Minh or Viet Cong

Ways in which an historical force or movement influenced a specific groupof people and/or individual to attempt to change the political and/or social situation in their country could include:

Vietnamese nationalism, coupled with a desire for freedom from colonial rule, was a powerful force that influenced groups like the Viet Minh, who attempted to overthrow French (and Japanese) rule in Vietnam.

  • A long history of foreign intervention, especially by China, had led to regular uprisings that helped create a sense of national identity based on a strong resentment of foreign interference. Despite regional differences, there was a common language in Vietnam. Confucianism and Buddhism influenced cultural development. For most, life was village based; the family and village leaders were extremely important, more so than an Emperor or other ruler.
  • Vietnamese nationalism, and a desire to oust the French, was fuelled by actions taken by the French colonial rulers. Under the French laws applicable to individuals, Vietnamese were prohibited from travelling outside their districts without identity papers; and they were not allowed to publish, meet, or organise. They were subject to corvee, and they could be imprisoned at the whim of any French magistrate. By 1930 more than 80 percent of the riceland in Cochin-China was owned by 25 percent of the landowners, and 57 percent of the rural population were landless peasants working on large estates. More than 90 percent of rubber plantations were French owned. Two-thirds of the coal mined in Vietnam (nearly two million tons in 1927) was exported to France. Under French rule, the number of elementary schools was gradually increased, but even by 1925 it was estimated that no more than one school-age child in ten was receiving schooling. As a result, Vietnam's high degree of literacy declined dramatically during the colonial period. Economic hardship during the Depression hit Vietnamese peasants hardest. By 1930 rubber prices had plummeted to less than one-fourth their 1928 value. Peasants were forced to sell at least twice as much rice to pay the same amount in taxes or other debts. Floods, famine, and food riots plagued the countryside.
  • Of particular influence in the Viet Minh was Ho Chi Minh. His father was a nationalist who disliked French rule of Vietnam, no matter how indirect in the central region. Ho was a messenger for his father’s activities and later participated in a series of tax revolts. Through his Western-style education, Ho had learned of the high ideals of the French Revolution – “liberty, equality and fraternity”. He travelled to France in 1911 and joined the French communist party while in Paris. He took great interest in the anti-colonial views of Lenin (leader of the Russian Revolution of 1917). Later, Ho studied and taught in the Soviet Union for a period. Ho came to believe that a total focus on the goal of independence was the only way that Vietnam would be free. Formed in 1941, the Viet Minh was a nationalist rather than communist organisation, although beliefs such as equality and land distribution to the peasants were important.
  • Denied a legal outlet for political expression, nationalists in the north joined the forcefully expanding philosophy of communism during the 1920’s, while in the freer south, nationalists adopted the democratic views of Sun Yat-sin. The gulf separating north and south was now, for all practical purposes, complete and unbridgeable, made so by the radically different methods of nationalist expression adopted by the two regions. Legally, politically and philosophically, South Vietnam was, by the end of the Second World War, a sovereign nation, distinctly different in culture and national expression from the nation of North Vietnam.

Viet Cong (National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam/People's Liberation Armed Forces)

Many of the same influences led to the Viet Cong challenging the authority of the Bao Dai/Ngo Dinh Diem US-backed governments. Under the Viet Cong’s nationalist view, the governments in the South lacked legitimacy as they were too heavily influenced by foreigners. They also sought to reunite a country that had been divided by the Geneva Accords (see below), and by the Diem government’s refusal to hold the scheduled elections.

Consequences of these attempts to change the political and / or social situation in the country could include:

Viet Minh (League for the Independence of Vietnam)

Political

  • When the Japanese surrendered in August 1945, Ho – acting as leader of the Viet Minh – established a Vietnamese government in Hanoi, and proclaimed an independent Democratic Republic of Vietnam. Ho used words from the American Declaration of Independence: “All men are created equal. They are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights, among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” However, the Viet Minh was not strong enough to resist the return of the French, a compromise was negotiated that saw the DRV reduced to the status of a ‘free state within the French Union of Indochinese states’ – a most unsatisfactory arrangement, but one both sides knew would not last.
  • The Viet Minh’s position was to negotiate to unite Vietnam under a Viet Minh government. Despite the efforts of its delegate, Pham Van Dong, the real players at the conference were the major powers. The ‘temporary’ division of Vietnam was acceptable only because the Viet Minh already controlled up to two-thirds of Vietnam,
    and because of the promise of elections in 1956 – the Viet Minh (and everybody else) believed that the DRV would finally be established through the electoral process …
  • After the military defeat of the French at Dien Bien Phu, a political solution was sought at the concomitant Geneva Conference. Expecting support from China and the USSR, and feeling that their military victory had them in a powerful position, the Viet Minh was bitterly disappointed when the goal of a unified Vietnam free of foreign intervention once again eluded them. The Geneva Accords divided Vietnam in half at the 17th parallel (which for the Viet Minh meant ceding some territory it already held), with Ho Chi Minh's Communists ceded the North, while Bao Dai's regime was granted the South. The Accords also provided for population transfer, and national elections to be held in all of Vietnam within two years to reunify the country. Although disappointed with the outcome, the remnants of the Viet Minh (the 10,000 or so ‘winter cadre’/’stay behinds’), along with ‘agents’ from the North, engaged in political activity in an effort to ensure a victory at the elections in 1956. (These were notheld in the end.)

Military