Study notes
Every topic, by exam paper
Notes follow the IB History syllabus. Each topic is also a pin on the globe — open it there to see the world as it was.
Paper 1 — Prescribed subjects
Source-based. Your school studies one prescribed subject.
Prescribed subject 1
Military leaders
Genghis Khan (c1200–1227) and Richard I of England (1173–1199) — leadership, campaigns and their impact.
Prescribed subject 2
Conquest and its impact
The final stages of Muslim rule in Spain (1482–1492) and the conquest of Mexico and Peru (1519–1551).
Prescribed subject 3
The move to global war
Japanese expansion in East Asia (1931–1941) and German and Italian expansion (1933–1940), and the international response.
Prescribed subject 4
Rights and protest
The civil rights movement in the United States (1954–1965) and apartheid South Africa (1948–1964).
Prescribed subject 5
Conflict and intervention
Rwanda (1990–1998) and Kosovo (1989–2002) — causes of conflict, the course of events, and international intervention.
Paper 2 — World history topics
Two essays, each on a different world history topic.
World history topic 1
Society and economy (750–1400)
Economic, religious, intellectual and cultural developments and their effect on medieval societies.
Notes for this unit are coming soon.
World history topic 2
Causes and effects of medieval wars (750–1500)
Why medieval wars began, how they were fought, and what they changed — from the Crusades to the Hundred Years' War.
World history topic 3
Dynasties and rulers (750–1500)
How rulers gained, legitimized and kept power, and their relationships with religion and the nobility.
Notes for this unit are coming soon.
World history topic 4
Societies in transition (1400–1700)
Social, economic, cultural and intellectual change, including exploration, the Renaissance and the Reformation.
Notes for this unit are coming soon.
World history topic 5
Early Modern states (1450–1789)
The rise of centralized states, the methods rulers used to control them, and challenges to their authority.
Notes for this unit are coming soon.
World history topic 6
Causes and effects of Early Modern wars (1500–1750)
Dynastic, religious and territorial wars, the changing nature of warfare, and their consequences.
Notes for this unit are coming soon.
World history topic 7
Origins, development and impact of industrialization (1750–2005)
Why industrialization began where and when it did, and its economic, social and political effects.
Notes for this unit are coming soon.
World history topic 8
Independence movements (1800–2000)
The origins, methods and leadership of independence movements, and the challenges new states faced.
Notes for this unit are coming soon.
World history topic 9
Evolution and development of democratic states (1848–2000)
How democracies emerged and developed, the challenges they faced, and their social and cultural policies.
Notes for this unit are coming soon.
World history topic 10
Authoritarian states (20th century)
The emergence, consolidation and maintenance of authoritarian states, and the aims and results of their policies.
World history topic 11
Causes and effects of 20th-century wars
The causes, practices and effects of war — including total and limited wars, civil wars and guerrilla wars.
World history topic 12
The Cold War — superpower tensions and rivalries
The rivalry between the USA and the USSR, its spread to other regions, and the leaders and crises that shaped it.
Paper 3 — HL regional options
Higher Level only. Three essays on one region.
HL regional option 1
History of Africa and the Middle East
Eighteen sections spanning roughly 750 to 2005, of which schools study three.
Notes for this unit are coming soon.
HL regional option 2
History of the Americas
Eighteen sections spanning roughly 750 to 2005 — from Indigenous societies to the Cold War in the Americas — of which schools study three.
Notes for this unit are coming soon.
HL regional option 3
History of Asia and Oceania
Eighteen sections spanning roughly 750 to 2005, of which schools study three.
Notes for this unit are coming soon.
HL regional option 4
History of Europe
Eighteen sections spanning roughly 1000 to 2000 — including imperial Russia, the revolutions of 1917 and the interwar years — of which schools study three.
No topics match that filter.