Scotland · SQAQ&A
HistoryQ&A by dot point
A short Q&A bank for every Scotland History syllabus dot point. Each question and answer is drawn directly from our worked dot-point page, so you can scan key concepts before opening the long-form answer.
British context: The Atlantic Slave Trade, 1770-1807
- Capture in West Africa and its effects: how enslaved people were captured and brought to the coast, the role of European traders and African intermediaries, and the impact of the trade on African societies.3Q&A pairs
- Life on the plantations: the sale of enslaved people, the work on sugar plantations, living conditions, the system of control and punishment, and the role of the planters and overseers.3Q&A pairs
- Resistance by enslaved people: everyday forms of resistance, running away, the survival of African culture, and organised revolts, together with why large-scale rebellion was so difficult and dangerous.4Q&A pairs
- The abolition campaign: the work of the campaigners and their methods, the arguments for and against abolition, the reasons opponents defended the trade, and the abolition of the British slave trade in 1807.3Q&A pairs
- The Middle Passage: the conditions of the Atlantic crossing for enslaved people, including overcrowding, disease, cruelty and high death rates, and why ships were packed so tightly.3Q&A pairs
- The triangular trade and Britain's role: the three legs of the trade between Britain, West Africa and the Americas, the goods exchanged at each stage, and why British ports and merchants profited.5Q&A pairs
European and World context: Hitler and Nazi Germany, 1919-1939
- The consolidation of power 1933-1934: the Reichstag Fire, the Enabling Act, the banning of opposition, the Night of the Long Knives, and Hitler becoming Fuhrer on Hindenburg's death.3Q&A pairs
- Early threats to Weimar 1919-1923: political revolts from left and right (the Spartacist Revolt and the Beer Hall Putsch) and the economic crisis of hyperinflation in 1923.4Q&A pairs
- Nazi methods of control: the police state of the SS and Gestapo, censorship and propaganda, and the control of education and youth movements to spread Nazi ideas.3Q&A pairs
- Nazi persecution and opposition: the persecution of Jewish people and other minorities, and the opposition to the regime from the churches, socialists and communists, and young people.4Q&A pairs
- The Nazi rise to power 1929-1933: the impact of the Great Depression, the appeal of Hitler and the Nazis, the weakness of the Weimar government, and how Hitler became Chancellor in January 1933.5Q&A pairs
- Weimar Germany and the Treaty of Versailles: the impact of defeat in the First World War, the creation of the Weimar Republic, and the terms of the Treaty of Versailles and German opposition to it.5Q&A pairs
Exam skills: source handling and writing
- Answering the Compare question: making developed comparisons between two sources, matching specific points so each comparison links a detail in one source to a detail in the other and states whether they agree or disagree.4Q&A pairs
- Answering the Describe question: using recalled knowledge to make a set number of separate, developed points of factual description, with the mark allocation signalling how many points to make.5Q&A pairs
- Evaluating the usefulness of a source: judging a source by its origin, purpose, timing and content, and by what a historian knows the source leaves out, to decide how useful it is as evidence.4Q&A pairs
- Answering the Explain question: giving developed reasons for an event or development, drawn from recall, where each fully developed reason earns a mark.4Q&A pairs
- Answering the How fully source question: using points selected from the source and points of recalled knowledge the source omits to judge how fully a source describes or explains a development.5Q&A pairs
- The Assignment overview: a candidate-chosen historical issue researched in advance and written up under supervised conditions, marked out of 20 for knowledge, organisation, use of sources and a supported conclusion.4Q&A pairs
Scottish context: The Wars of Independence, 1286-1328
- Edward I as overlord 1292-1296: his harsh treatment of King John Balliol, the Scottish alliance with France, Edward's invasion, the sack of Berwick, the defeat of Balliol, and the imposition of English control.5Q&A pairs
- Robert Bruce 1306-1314: his seizure of the throne after killing John Comyn, his early defeats and recovery, his guerrilla campaign and capture of castles, and his decisive victory at Bannockburn in 1314.3Q&A pairs
- Securing independence 1314-1328: continued war and raids after Bannockburn, the Declaration of Arbroath of 1320, and the Treaty of Edinburgh-Northampton of 1328 by which England recognised Scottish independence.5Q&A pairs
- The Great Cause 1291-1292: the appeal to Edward I, his demand to be accepted as overlord at Norham, the rival claims of Bruce and Balliol, and Edward's choice of John Balliol as king.4Q&A pairs
- The succession problem 1286-1292: the death of Alexander III, the position of the Maid of Norway, the Treaty of Birgham, and her death leaving Scotland without a clear heir.5Q&A pairs
- William Wallace and the rising of 1297-1298: the reasons for the rebellion, the victory at Stirling Bridge, Wallace as Guardian, and the defeat at Falkirk and its consequences.4Q&A pairs