A-level HISTORY Component 1J The British Empire, c1857–1967

A-level HISTORY Component 1J The British Empire, c1857–1967 Time allowed: 2 hours 30 minutes Materials For this paper you must have: • an AQA 16-page answer book. Instructions • Use black ink or black ball-point pen. • Write the information required on the front of your answer book. The Paper Reference is 7042/1J. • Answer three questions. In Section A answer Question 01. In Section B answer two questions. Information • The marks for questions are shown in brackets. • The maximum mark for this paper is 80. • You will be marked on your ability to: – use good English – organise information clearly – use specialist vocabulary where appropriate. Advice • You are advised to spend about: – 1 hour on Question 01 from Section A – 45 minutes on each of the two questions answered from Section B. 2 IB/M/Jun21/7042/1J Section A Answer Question 01. Extract A There have been various explanations of the reasons for British expansion in Africa in the second half of the nineteenth century. One is the strategic explanation, including the need to defend routes to India against potential threats. The disintegration of local power in some areas was crucial for this purpose and in Egypt, the British established a much greater direct political presence than originally intended – even actual rule. However, the most convincing explanation lies in the economic analysis of imperialism. In the first place, there was a direct economic incentive to acquire some African territories, of which Southern Africa is the most obvious. Certainly, the scramble for West Africa and the Congo in the 1870s was primarily economic. Secondly, reference to India as the ‘brightest jewel in the imperial crown’, and that country’s position at the heart of British strategic thinking, was a reflection of the very real importance of India to the British economy. Adapted from EJ Hobsbawm, The Age of Empire 1875–1914, 1987