【世界歷史科】The First World War (1914-1918) -- Data-based questions (suggested answers)

Source A

The following cartoon was published in 1911 and was entitled 'The mailed fist of Agadir'.

(there have a port in Morocco, The man is German Kaiser William II)

1.  Which event does Source A refer to?                          (1 mark)

The Second Moroccan Crisis (1911)

2.  What was the view of the cartoonist on Germany?  Support your answer with two clues from the Source.                            (2+4 marks)

The cartoonist thought that Germany was very aggressive and it wanted to control Morocco / turn Morocco into its colony.

In Source A, the man representing Germany is very big / is a giant. He is sending a gunboat to Morocco.  This shows that the cartoonist thought that Germany wanted to control Morocco by military force.

Also, in Source A, Kaiser William II is using a strong iron fist to press on the port of Morocco.  This shows that the cartoonist thought that Germany was very aggressive.

Source B

The following cartoon was published before the First World War. Its title was 'The Boiling Point'.

(these men are European great powers)

3.  What was the situation of the Balkan Peninsula as shown in Source B?  Identify two clues to explain your answer.                 (2 + 4 marks)

The situation was very dangerous and tense.  The European great powers were in trouble / they wanted to control the Balkan Peninsula.

In Source B, the European great powers are sitting on the pot written with “Balkan Troubles”.  They look very worried.  This shows that the situation of the Balkan Peninsula was very dangerous and tense.  It was very troublesome.

Also, in Source B, there is smoke coming out from the boiling pot that may explode very easily.  This shows that the situation was very dangerous.

Moreover, the title of the cartoon is ‘The Boiling Point’.  This shows that the great powers would be hurt very easily and the situation was very dangerous.

(Any two of the above clues)

4.  Which two great powers were interested over the Balkan Peninsula?  Why did they want to expand to the Balkan Peninsula?   Support your answer with historical knowledge.                          (2+4 marks)

  Russia and Austria-Hungary

In my historical knowledge, both Russia and Austria-Hungary were near to the Balkan Peninsula and both of them were aggressive. 

Also, Russia had the same race as the Balkan people who were Slavs. Russia wanted to unite them and expand its power to the Balkan Peninsula and the Mediterranean Sea. 

Moreover, Austria-Hungary was a multi-racial empire consisting of Germans and Slavs. It didn’t want Russia to unite the Slavs as it would break its empire.


Source C
The following cartoon shows the situation of Europe before WWI.

5.    Identify the relationship between the two countries as shown in Source C.  Cite two clues from the Source to explain your answer.        (1+4 marks)

The relationship between the two countries was bad / unfriendly / hostile. They started to have armaments race.

In Source C, the two men representing the two countries are carrying a lot of weapons on their back.  This shows that they had hostile relationship and they started the armaments race.

Also, in the cartoon, the two men are staring at each other and prepare for a fight.  This shows that they had hostile relationship and was ready for a war.

6.    Do you agree with the view of the cartoonist as identified in question (5)?  Support your answer with historical knowledge.                (3 marks)

Agree. The relationship among the great powers was hostile and there was armaments race among the European great powers before WWI.

In historical knowledge, European great powers increased military expenditure, enlarged their army and navy and invented new weapons. Also, Britain and Germany started the naval race in building dreadnoughts.