Y320: from Colonialism to Independence: the British Empire 1857-1965 | OCR A-Level History A (H505)

Y320: from Colonialism to Independence: the British Empire 1857-1965

140 questions
12 subtopics
Thematic study and historical interpretations, one of twenty-one
Y301 to Y321

From Colonialism to Independence: The British Empire 1857–1965 is unit Y320 of OCR History A, one of the twenty-one options in unit group 3, the thematic study and historical interpretations; a student sits one of them.

Its four key topics and three depth studies are the governance and administration of the Empire, opposition to British Rule, the impact of imperial power on the periphery and Britain, the British Empire and its impact on international relations, British India: The War of 1857 and its consequences to 1876, Palestine 1914–1948, nationalism in Kenya 1945–1965. 140 recall questions across 12 subtopics.

Sample questions from Y320: from Colonialism to Independence: the British Empire 1857-1965

Answer each one closed book first, then open the answer.

The governance and administration of the Empire: Empire in 1857 and economic explanations

What did Gallagher and Robinson argue in their essay on the imperialism of free trade?

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Writing in 1953, they denied that the mid-Victorian decades were anti-imperial and the late Victorian decades newly imperial, arguing instead that policy was consistently expansionist and simply chose the cheapest instrument available, taking trade with informal control where possible and formal rule only where necessary.
Opposition to British Rule: Opposition movements, peaceful and violent, reasons for their development

Describe the Mahdist opposition in the Sudan.

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Muhammad Ahmad proclaimed himself the Mahdi in 1881 and led a religious and anti-Egyptian revolt that destroyed Hicks Pasha's army in 1883 and took Khartoum in January 1885, killing Gordon; his successor the Khalifa ruled an independent Sudanese state until Kitchener's mechanised reconquest culminated at Omdurman in 1898.
The impact of imperial power on the periphery and Britain: jingoism and the impact of Empire on Britain

Define jingoism.

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The word came from a music hall song of 1878 during the Russo-Turkish crisis and described aggressive popular patriotism that demanded a warlike foreign policy; its most famous display was the hysterical street celebration of the relief of Mafeking in 1900, which added the verb mafficking to the language.
The British Empire and its impact on international relations: European rivalry, isolation and the First World War

Which colonial confrontations most strained relations with other European powers?

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The meeting of Marchand and Kitchener at Fashoda on the Upper Nile in 1898 brought Britain and France to the brink of war before France withdrew, German intervention in the Moroccan crises of 1905 and 1911 tested the new entente, and the German naval programme turned imperial rivalry into a direct threat to British security.
The British Empire and its impact on international relations: European rivalry, isolation and the First World War

What did earlier colonial wars reveal about imperial power?

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Defeats such as the destruction of a British column by the Zulu at Isandlwana in 1879 and the fall of Khartoum in 1885 caused political crises at home out of all proportion to their strategic weight, showing how far imperial prestige had become a domestic political commodity that governments could not afford to lose.
Depth study: British India: The War of 1857 and its consequences to 1876 — causes, course and consequences of the rebellion

What was the immediate trigger of the rising in 1857?

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The new Enfield rifle used cartridges that had to be bitten open, and the rumour spread that they were greased with cow and pig fat, defiling Hindus and Muslims alike; Mangal Pandey's attack on his officers at Barrackpore in March 1857 and the punishment of sepoys at Meerut for refusing the cartridges lit the fuse.
Depth study: Palestine 1914–1948 — Status and causes of Zionist-Palestinian problem

Outline how Britain came to govern Palestine.

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Allenby's forces took Jerusalem in December 1917 and the country was held under military administration until the San Remo conference of 1920 assigned it to Britain; the mandate was approved by the League in 1922 and came formally into force in 1923, with Herbert Samuel as the first High Commissioner.
Depth study: Nationalism in Kenya 1945–1965 — nationalism, Mau Mau and independence

Trace the growth of African political organisation before 1952.

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Harry Thuku's East African Association protested against pass laws and wages until his deportation in 1922, the Kikuyu Central Association carried on the land campaign from 1924 and was banned in 1940, and in 1944 the Kenya African Union was formed as the first colony-wide body, taking Kenyatta as president in 1947.

The 12 subtopics

One subtopic is one session. Work down the list.

Subtopic	What it covers	Questions
The governance and administration of the Empire: Empire in 1857 and economic explanations	Recall questions on the Empire in 1857, explanations for the growth of the British Empire, Berlin Conference and economic explanations, imperial rivalry, metropolitan influence.	10
The governance and administration of the Empire: forms of governance and negotiation	Recall questions on forms of governance, security and coercion, trusteeship, men on the spot, collaboration and indigenous elites, the use of technology, negotiation.	10
Opposition to British Rule: Opposition movements, peaceful and violent, reasons for their development	Recall questions on opposition movements, peaceful and violent, reasons for their development, nature and impact including South Africa, India, Sudan, Malaya, Kenya.	10
Opposition to British Rule: African nationalism, methods and the role of opposition	Recall questions on Kenya before 1952 and Kenyatta, Nkrumah, Pan-Africanism, peaceful and violent methods, the World Wars, Western-educated elites, and how far opposition caused decolonisation and with what consequences.	10
The impact of imperial power on the periphery and Britain: Orientalism and the effects of rule on the colonies	Recall questions on Said’s Orientalism, colonial labour, Indian famines, technology and modernisation, medicine, national identities, missions, gender, education, indigenous culture, sport and colonial law and order.	12
The impact of imperial power on the periphery and Britain: jingoism and the impact of Empire on Britain	Recall questions on jingoism, the debate over the British public and Empire, exhibitions, schools and youth movements, the arts, Empire in domestic politics, and the Empire’s contribution to and profitability for the British economy.	8
The British Empire and its impact on international relations: European rivalry, isolation and the First World War	Recall questions on imperial rivalry with European powers, colonial confrontations, Splendid Isolation and its end, the Second Anglo-Boer War, earlier colonial wars and the Empire’s part in and position after the First World War.	8
The British Empire and its impact on international relations: mandates, dominions, world war and decline	Recall questions on the mandates, the dominions between the wars, the Empire in the Second World War, the United Nations, the United States, Suez, the Cold War, the Commonwealth, the Wind of Change and Europe.	12
Depth study: British India: The War of 1857 and its consequences to 1876 — causes, course and consequences of the rebellion	Recall questions on British India in 1857, the Doctrine of Lapse and Awadh, religious and military grievances, the outbreak, Delhi, Kanpur and Lucknow, the defeat of the rising, the Act of 1858, the Proclamation, reorganisation and interpretations.	20
Depth study: Palestine 1914–1948 — Status and causes of Zionist-Palestinian problem	Recall questions on status and causes of Zionist-Palestinian problem by 1914, the First World War and the Balfour Declaration.	10
Depth study: Palestine 1914–1948 — the Mandate in crisis and the British withdrawal	Recall questions on violence before 1936, Jewish immigration and land purchase, Palestinian leadership, the Arab Revolt, the Peel Commission, the White Paper of 1939, Britain’s decision to leave, the UN plan and the consequences of 1948.	10
Depth study: Nationalism in Kenya 1945–1965 — nationalism, Mau Mau and independence	Recall questions on Kenya in 1945, nationalist organisation, settlers and Indians, the causes of Mau Mau and oathing, the Emergency and counter-insurgency, Kenyatta’s trial, changing British policy, Lancaster House, independence and interpretations of Mau Mau.	20

Y320: from Colonialism to Independence: the British Empire 1857-1965 is 140 of the 6,240 questions in the guide.Get the guide, £8

How the guide is worked

Answering a question from memory stores it far better than reading the answer again. The guide runs that as a fixed procedure on one subtopic at a time, about twenty minutes a session.

Step 1 · Closed book
Cover the answers. Work through one subtopic and write down what you can. Leave blanks where you have nothing.
Step 2 · Open book
Go back to the top. Read each printed answer and write it out in full, including the ones you had right.
Step 3 · Closed book again
Same questions, same order, from memory. The gap between pass one and pass three is the session result.

Read the full method, the return schedule and the research behind it.