Secondary 2 History Practice Paper: The Rise Of Islamic Civilisation, Late Medieval Europe And The Renaissance, The Reformation, The Age Of Discovery, Ming And Qing China And Early Hong Kong (100 Marks) - TutorZone

Secondary 2 History Practice Paper: the rise of Islamic civilisation, late medieval Europe and the Renaissance, the Reformation, the Age of Discovery, Ming and Qing China and early Hong Kong (100 marks)

2026-11-14

History – S2

S2 History practice paper: 24 questions with answers on Islam, the Renaissance, the Reformation, the Age of Discovery, Ming and Qing China and early Hong Kong.

Paper details　S2 History practice paper with 24 questions and full answers: the rise and expansion of Islamic civilisation, the Renaissance, the Reformation and the Council of Trent, the Age of Discovery, Ming and Qing maritime trade, and the early history of Hong Kong with source analysis.

Section A – The rise and expansion of Islamic civilisation (16 marks)

Study the information given and answer all questions.

#	Question	Answer and marking notes
1	Muhammad moved from Mecca to Medina in 622 CE, an event known as the Hijra. Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire, fell in 1453 CE. How many years passed between the Hijra and the fall of Constantinople?	Years = 1453 minus 622 = 831 years. Subtract the earlier year from the later year; do not add one, since both events fall in different calendar years. (2 marks for the working; 2 marks for the answer with unit)
2	Explain two reasons why the Arab empire was able to expand so rapidly in the seventh and eighth centuries.	First, Byzantium and Persia had fought each other for decades, leaving frontier garrisons weak and treasuries drained. Second, Arab cavalry and camel units knew the desert routes and wells, so they moved quickly and could bypass fortified towns. Other acceptable answers: heavy taxation and religious policy under the old rulers made local people willing to cooperate; a shared faith and language gave cohesion; control of trade routes offered economic gain. (2 marks per reason: 1 for the factor, 1 for the explanation)
3	Give one example each of the contribution of Islamic civilisation to mathematics and to medicine, and explain the later influence of each.	In mathematics, al-Khwarizmi set out the Indian numerals and the use of zero and solved quadratic equations algebraically; the word algebra comes from al-jabr in the title of his book, and the method reached Europe through Latin translation. In medicine, Ibn Sina compiled the Canon of Medicine, which combined Greek and Persian knowledge and remained a standard university text in Europe for centuries. Naming the scholar or the book is required. (2 marks per example: 1 for the example, 1 for the influence)
4	What role did the House of Wisdom in Baghdad play under the Abbasid caliphs? Give one specific function to support your answer.	The House of Wisdom was a state-funded centre for translation and research, where Greek, Persian and Indian works on philosophy, mathematics, astronomy and medicine were rendered into Arabic, with a library and observatory attached. A specific function: scholars there revised Ptolemy astronomical tables and calendar data; paper-making spread through the same network, lowering the cost of books and speeding the circulation of knowledge. (2 marks for the role; 2 marks for the function and explanation)

Section B – Late medieval Europe and the Renaissance (16 marks)

Study the sources and answer all questions.

#	Question	Answer and marking notes
5	The Black Death swept Europe between 1347 and 1351 and is generally estimated to have killed about one third of the population. A manor had 1200 people. Calculate the number of deaths and the number of survivors on that basis.	Deaths = 1200 divided by 3 = 400; survivors = 1200 minus 400 = 800. The outbreak lasted 4 years. The sharp fall in population created a labour shortage, so surviving peasants could demand higher wages and lighter labour duties, and the manorial system gradually weakened. (1 mark for deaths; 1 for survivors; 2 for the effect on labour)
6	Why did the Renaissance begin in the Italian city-states? Give two reasons.	First, the city-states of Florence, Venice and Genoa grew rich from Mediterranean trade, so merchants and bankers could patronise artists and scholars, as the Medici family did for painters and building projects. Second, Italy preserved Roman ruins and manuscripts, so scholars could read classical texts directly, and Greek manuscripts arrived with Byzantine scholars moving west. Other acceptable answers: rivalry between city-states led to conspicuous public building; printing spread new ideas quickly. (2 marks each)
7	Compare Renaissance humanism with medieval scholasticism in terms of their main focus of study.	Scholasticism centred on theology, using logic to debate doctrine, with authority resting on the Church and on commentaries on Aristotle. Humanism centred on human experience in this world, studying Greek and Roman literature, history and rhetoric and valuing reason, feeling and civic duty, and it preferred original texts to commentaries. The two were not wholly opposed: many humanists remained devout, changing the method of study rather than the faith. (2 marks for scholasticism; 2 for humanism)
8	Movable-type printing spread in Europe from the mid-fifteenth century. Explain two ways in which it helped spread Renaissance ideas.	First, printing replaced copying by hand, cutting costs and raising output, so one text could reach many cities quickly and scholars could discuss the same edition. Second, printed books reduced copying errors and preserved classical and new works in a standard form; vernacular printing also widened the reading public beyond monasteries and universities. (2 marks per effect: 1 for the mechanism, 1 for the consequence)

Section C – The Reformation and the Catholic response (16 marks)

Study the sources and answer all questions.

#	Question	Answer and marking notes
9	Martin Luther published the Ninety-five Theses in 1517. Which church practice did it mainly attack, and why was that practice controversial?	It mainly attacked the sale of indulgences. The Church taught that buying an indulgence reduced punishment in purgatory, and some preachers presented payment as a route to salvation, so believers thought grace could be bought; part of the money also funded the building of St Peter Basilica, raising doubts about motive. Luther held that forgiveness belongs to God and is not a commodity sold by clergy. (2 marks for indulgences; 2 for the controversy)
10	Explain the meaning of Luther two key teachings: justification by faith alone and scripture alone.	Justification by faith alone means a person is made right before God through trust in God and through grace, not through buying relics, pilgrimage or good works, so the ladder of earning salvation is removed. Scripture alone means the Bible is the only final authority, which believers may read and interpret for themselves rather than relying on papal or council interpretation; this made vernacular translation necessary. (2 marks per teaching: 1 for meaning, 1 for the contrast with the older view)
11	How did Calvin reforms in Geneva differ from Luther teaching? Give two points.	First, Calvin taught predestination, holding that salvation is decided beforehand by God, and that a disciplined life and diligent work are signs of election; this helped the movement spread to Scotland, the Netherlands and France. Second, Calvin set up church government by pastors and elders in Geneva and strictly regulated dress, entertainment and morals, joining church and city authority, whereas Luther relied more on local princes and kept more traditional ceremonies. (2 marks per point: 1 for the content, 1 for the comparison)
12	The Council of Trent met from 1545 to 1563. State how many years the council lasted and give two of its reforming measures.	The council lasted 1563 minus 1545 = 18 years. Measures: the sale of indulgences was banned, and bishops were required to reside in their dioceses instead of holding several posts; seminaries were set up to train priests and the catechism and liturgy were standardised; the seven sacraments and papal authority were reaffirmed against Protestant teaching. (1 mark for the years; 3 marks for the two measures)

Section D – The Age of Discovery (20 marks)

Study the sources and answer all questions.

#	Question	Answer and marking notes
13	Columbus sailed west and reached the Americas in 1492; da Gama rounded the Cape of Good Hope and reached India in 1498. How many years apart were the two voyages, and why did they choose different routes?	The two voyages were 1498 minus 1492 = 6 years apart. Columbus believed a westward run would reach Asia sooner, underestimated the size of the globe and did not know a continent lay in between; da Gama continued the Portuguese practice of probing down the west African coast, rounded the Cape of Good Hope and used the monsoon winds of the Indian Ocean. (2 marks for the years; 3 for the routes)
14	Magellan fleet left in 1519 and returned in 1522 with 1 ship and 18 men out of 5 ships and 265 men. Calculate the length of the voyage in months, the survival rate of the crew and the percentage of ships lost.	Duration = (1522 minus 1519) times 12 = 36 months. Crew survival rate = 18 divided by 265 times 100 = 6.79 per cent. Ships lost = (5 minus 1) divided by 5 times 100 = 80.0 per cent. The figures show how deadly the voyage was: shortage of fresh food, scurvy, storms and conflict with islanders all took a toll, yet the fleet proved the oceans connect, paving the way for global trade. (2 marks for months; 1.5 for survival; 1.5 for ships)
15	Explain two effects of the Age of Discovery on the European economy in the sixteenth century.	First, silver from the Americas flooded in, money supply rose faster than output and prices climbed over the long term, an episode called the price revolution; landlords on fixed rents lost real income while merchants and manufacturers gained. Second, the centre of trade shifted from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic, and Lisbon, Antwerp and Amsterdam grew; spices, sugar and tobacco entered European markets, and joint-stock companies and marine insurance expanded. (2.5 marks each: 1 for the phenomenon, 1.5 for the mechanism or consequence)
16	What impact did the Age of Discovery have on the indigenous peoples of the Americas? Give two effects with explanation.	First, a demographic collapse: smallpox, measles and other diseases brought by Europeans killed huge numbers, and war and forced movement cut some regional populations by more than half within decades. Second, ways of life were destroyed: land was taken for plantations and mines, indigenous people were forced to labour in mines and on farms, and traditional religion and records were damaged, breaking up existing societies. (2.5 marks each: 1 for the effect, 1.5 for the explanation)

Section E – Ming and Qing China and maritime trade (16 marks)

Study the sources and answer all questions.

#	Question	Answer and marking notes
17	The Ming dynasty was founded in 1368 and fell in 1644; the Qing dynasty ruled China from 1644 to 1911. Calculate the length of each dynasty.	Ming: 1644 minus 1368 = 276 years. Qing: 1911 minus 1644 = 267 years. The difference is 9 years. Note that 1644 is the year of transition, so the two spans overlap in that year and cannot simply be added. (2 marks per dynasty: 1 for the working, 1 for the answer)
18	Zheng He led seven voyages to the western seas between 1405 and 1433. Calculate the total number of years covered and the average interval between voyages (whole number).	Total = 1433 minus 1405 = 28 years; average interval = 28 divided by 7 = 4 years. The fleet reached the east African coast, exchanging silk and porcelain for spices and rare animals; it was state-led tribute trade, unlike the company-based trade that Europeans later ran. The voyages ended in the mid-Ming because of their cost and the greater need for resources on the northern frontier. (2 marks for the years; 2 for the interval)
19	In the mid-eighteenth century the Qing court restricted foreign trade to Guangzhou. Explain two effects of this policy.	First, foreign trade was monopolised by licensed Cohong merchants: foreigners had to clear customs through them and stay in designated factories, so duties and fees were opaque and grievances grew. Second, while tea and silk still flowed out, controls pushed part of the trade into smuggling and armed coastal exchange, weakening rather than strengthening state control of the coast. (2 marks each: 1 for the content, 1 for the consequence)
20	Between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries, some 500000 taels of silver entered China each year through trade. Calculate the total inflow over 20 years, in units of ten thousand taels. A consignment of spices cost 3 dollars per unit at source and sold in Europe at 20 times the source price; find the European price.	Silver total = 500000 times 20 = 10000000 taels, that is 1000 ten-thousand taels. European spice price = 3 times 20 = 60 dollars. The huge inflow made taxation and long-distance trade in south-east China increasingly payable in silver, so swings in the silver-copper exchange rate hit peasant burdens directly; the wide spice margin was the profit engine of long-distance trade. (2 marks for silver, half for the working and half for the conversion; 2 marks for the spice price)

Section F – Early Hong Kong and source analysis (16 marks)

Study the sources and answer all questions.

#	Question	Answer and marking notes
21	Britain occupied Hong Kong Island in 1841 and leased the New Territories in 1898. How many years apart were the two events?	Years apart = 1898 minus 1841 = 57 years, more than half a century. During that period Hong Kong grew from an entrepot into a port with docks, warehouses, banks and newspapers, and its population rose sharply with migrants from the mainland; the lease of the New Territories greatly extended land and water resources but also created the problem of governing existing rural communities. (2 marks for the working; 2 for the answer)
22	The New Territories was leased for 99 years from 1898. Calculate the year the lease expired and state what happened to Hong Kong in that year.	Expiry year = 1898 plus 99 = 1997. In 1984 Britain and China signed the Joint Declaration, under which British administration ended on 1 July of that year and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region was established under one country, two systems, with the existing legal system and way of life maintained for fifty years. (2 marks for the year; 2 for the outcome)
23	Traditional villages in the New Territories were founded mainly by five clans. Name two of them and explain two functions of the walled village.	The five clans are the Tang, Hau, Pang, Liu and Man; the Tang settled around Kam Tin and Ping Shan and the Man around San Tin. Functions of the walled village: brick walls and a gatehouse defended against bandits and clan feuds; the ancestral hall served as the centre for worship, deliberation and dispute settlement, upholding clan order; and the packed lanes inside also helped against flooding and shared wells. (2 marks for the clan names; 1 mark per function)
24	Explain the difference between primary and secondary sources and give one example of each for the early history of Hong Kong.	A primary source comes from the period of the event and from participants or witnesses, for example the 1841 land registers, treaty texts, letters, account books, photographs and recorded oral testimony. A secondary source is written later by someone who works from primary material, such as a modern scholarly history of Hong Kong or a textbook. In use, note that primary material also carries bias and gaps and that secondary works may simplify or misread, so the two kinds should be cross-checked and the author position and purpose examined. (2 marks for definitions; 1 per example; 2 for the discussion)

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