Short-answer question (SAQ)

Colonial empires in 1900

Unit 7
3 points
About 13 minutes

You read one source and answer three short parts (A, B and C) about it, each in a few sentences. Each part asks you to describe or explain something about the source or the history around it. On the exam: 3 required questions in 40 minutes (Section I, Part B), 20% of the score. Starting May 2027 every SAQ has a source: question 1 a secondary text, question 2 a primary text, question 3 a non-text source such as an image, map or chart.

The question and its sources

Use the table below to answer all parts of the question that follows.

Comparative table of colonization, c. 1900 (selected countries)

Country	Number of colonies	Area of mother country (sq. mi.)	Area of colonies (sq. mi.)	Population of mother country	Population of colonies
United Kingdom	50	120,979	11,605,238	40,559,954	345,222,239
France	33	204,092	3,740,756	38,517,975	56,401,860
Germany	13	208,830	1,027,120	52,279,901	14,687,000
Portugal	9	36,038	801,100	5,049,729	9,148,707
Italy	2	110,646	188,500	31,856,675	850,000
Russia	3	8,660,395	255,550	128,932,173	15,684,000

Source: J. A. Hobson, British economist and critic of imperialism, Imperialism: A Study (London: James Nisbet, 1902), p. 23. Hobson's table was compiled by H. C. Morris from The Statesman's Year-Book for 1900. Selected rows: six of the thirteen countries in Hobson's table are shown. Russia's area for the mother country includes Siberia and its other Asian lands.

Suggested time: 13 minutes

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Part (a)

1 point

Describe ONE pattern shown in the table.

Your answer to part (a)

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Part (b)

1 point

Explain ONE reason for European imperial expansion in the period 1870–1914 that helps account for the data in the table.

Your answer to part (b)

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Part (c)

1 point

Explain ONE way that competition for colonies affected relations among European states in the period 1880–1914.

Your answer to part (c)

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