Modern Europe, 1750–1921 — AS & A Level History (9489) questions by topic
Modern Europe, 1750 to 1921 combines a source-comparison question, such as weighing two accounts of the Peterloo Massacre, with essay questions on why the Prussian revolutionaries of 1848 failed or the growing unpopularity of Tsarist rule in the years leading to 1905. How far, explain, compare, to what extent and assess make up the top command words, and each expects you to use provenance to explain, not just describe, agreement or disagreement between sources.
Marks span from 30 to 40 across the 60 real questions gathered here from 2023 to 2025 papers. Practise by drafting both source responses and essays and submitting them for instant marking, since the scheme rewards using a source's authorship to explain why evidence diverges, a skill that only sharpens with repeated, marked attempts.
What examiners look for
- A recurring criticism is candidates addressing part (b) before part (a) and running out of time on the source comparison, or asserting similarities and differences that are not actually comparable across the two sources.
- Examiners note some answers treated evaluation as commenting on a source's tone rather than its provenance, or offered general comments on bias instead of explaining specific similarities and differences.
- A common mistake was using contextual knowledge only as general background on the Industrial Revolution rather than to explain a specific point of comparison.
- Strong answers used provenance to explain why attitudes diverge, for instance contrasting a reformer's account with a mill owner's, and quoted directly from each source for every comparison point.
- Reports praise responses that identified supported similarities, such as rioters on both sides aiming to break machinery, and supported differences, such as contrasting descriptions of violence between soldiers and rioters.
May–June 2025, Paper 11
Read Source B and Source C. Compare and contrast these sources as evidence of the strength of Prussia.
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2025, Paper 12
Read Source B and Source C. Compare and contrast these two sources as evidence about Bismarck's involvement in the Franco-Prussian War.
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2025, Paper 13
Read Source B and Source C. Compare and contrast these two sources as evidence about Prussia's position in Germany.
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2025, Paper 21
Explain why Napoleon was able to establish order in France after 1799.
Answer this question and get it marked →Explain why cooperative societies began to develop after 1800.
Answer this question and get it marked →Explain why Witte's industrial reforms were a success.
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2025, Paper 22
Explain why the March of the Women, 6 October 1789, happened. [10]
Answer this question and get it marked →Explain why agricultural output had increased by 1800. [10]
Answer this question and get it marked →Explain why there was a march on the Winter Palace in January 1905. [10]
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2025, Paper 23
Explain why the Jacobins fell from power in 1794.
Answer this question and get it marked →Explain why the factory system was important in the development of the Industrial Revolution in Britain.
Answer this question and get it marked →Explain why Lenin issued his April Theses.
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2024, Paper 11
Read Source B and Source C. Compare and contrast these two sources as evidence about attitudes towards child labour in the textile industry.
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2024, Paper 12
Read Source A and Source B. Compare and contrast these two sources as evidence about the growth of towns.
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2024, Paper 13
Read Source A and Source B. Compare and contrast these two sources as evidence about attitudes towards developments in the woollen industry.
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2024, Paper 21
Explain why Napoleon became emperor in 1804.
Answer this question and get it marked →Explain why Prussia faced a constitutional crisis in 1862.
Answer this question and get it marked →Explain why Stolypin introduced his agricultural reforms.
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2024, Paper 22
Explain why Turgot’s policies faced opposition. [10]
Answer this question and get it marked →Explain why the Prussian Union Plan of 1849 was proposed. [10]
Answer this question and get it marked →Explain why Tsar Nicholas II continued the policy of Russification. [10]
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2024, Paper 23
Explain why the storming of the Bastille happened.
Answer this question and get it marked →Explain why the Prussian revolutionaries of 1848 failed.
Answer this question and get it marked →Explain why the Constituent Assembly was dissolved in January 1918.
Answer this question and get it marked →October–November 2024, Paper 11
Read Source B and Source C. Compare and contrast these two sources as evidence about events in Haslingden in April 1826.
Answer this question and get it marked →October–November 2024, Paper 12
Read Source B and Source D. Compare and contrast these two sources as evidence about the methods used by the Chartists.
Answer this question and get it marked →October–November 2024, Paper 13
Read Source C and Source D. Compare and contrast these two sources as evidence about the Peterloo Massacre.
Answer this question and get it marked →October–November 2024, Paper 21
Explain why Napoleon agreed to the Concordat of 1801.
Answer this question and get it marked →Explain why Prussia went to war with Austria in 1866.
Answer this question and get it marked →Explain why there was opposition in Russia to the Treaty of Brest–Litovsk.
Answer this question and get it marked →October–November 2024, Paper 22
Explain why Louis XVI and his family fled Paris in June 1791. [10]
Answer this question and get it marked →Explain why Bismarck wanted to be allied with Austria in the war against Denmark in 1864. [10]
Answer this question and get it marked →Explain why the Bolsheviks were able to establish one-party rule by 1921. [10]
Answer this question and get it marked →October–November 2024, Paper 23
Explain why Necker's 'Le Compte Rendu au Roi' was criticised when published in 1781.
Answer this question and get it marked →Explain why the Carlsbad Decrees threatened the development of German nationalism.
Answer this question and get it marked →Explain why the Tsarist regime had become unpopular by 1905.
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2023, Paper 11
Read Sources A and B. Compare and contrast these two sources as evidence about the events of 14 July 1789.
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2023, Paper 12
Read Sources A and D. Compare and contrast these two sources as evidence of views about Calonne.
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2023, Paper 13
Read Sources A and B. Compare and contrast these two sources as evidence about the work of the National Constituent Assembly.
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2023, Paper 21
Explain why the development of steam power was important to the Industrial Revolution.
Answer this question and get it marked →Explain why the creation of the German Confederation discouraged the development of German nationalism.
Answer this question and get it marked →Explain why the Russian Civil War broke out in 1918.
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2023, Paper 22
Explain why living conditions in cities and towns were bad for the lower classes as a result of industrialisation. [10]
Answer this question and get it marked →Explain why relations between Prussian liberals and Bismarck improved in the period 1864–71. [10]
Answer this question and get it marked →Explain why the Tsar lost support between 1914 and 1917. [10]
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2023, Paper 23
Explain why changes in agriculture were important for industrialisation.
Answer this question and get it marked →Explain why the Erfurt Union collapsed in 1850.
Answer this question and get it marked →Explain why control of Petrograd and Moscow was important for Bolshevik victory in the Russian Civil War.
Answer this question and get it marked →October–November 2023, Paper 11
Read Sources A and B. How far do these sources agree about the King's Flight to Varennes?
Answer this question and get it marked →October–November 2023, Paper 12
Read Sources A and D. Compare and contrast these two sources as evidence of the aims of the revolutionaries.
Answer this question and get it marked →October–November 2023, Paper 13
Read Sources A and B. Compare and contrast these two sources as evidence of attitudes towards the King.
Answer this question and get it marked →October–November 2023, Paper 21
Explain why many people in Britain supported the idea of free trade. [10]
Answer this question and get it marked →Explain why Prussia went to war with Denmark in 1864. [10]
Answer this question and get it marked →Explain why Trotsky was important for Bolshevik success in October 1917. [10]
Answer this question and get it marked →October–November 2023, Paper 22
Explain why the slave trade was important to the growth of industry. [10]
Answer this question and get it marked →Explain why the Carlsbad Decrees of 1819 were issued. [10]
Answer this question and get it marked →Explain why ‘Bloody Sunday’ weakened the Tsarist regime in 1905. [10]
Answer this question and get it marked →October–November 2023, Paper 23
Explain why there was opposition to the demands for social reform which were caused by the Industrial Revolution.
Answer this question and get it marked →Explain why Austria lost the war of 1866 against Prussia.
Answer this question and get it marked →Explain why there was opposition to the introduction of the New Economic Policy.
Answer this question and get it marked →