ESSAY 1: Write a brilliant and insightful essay in response to ONE of the following questions. Essays should be 3
to 5 pages in length, with reasonably normal sized fonts and margins. Essays will be evaluated on the quality of
their analysis, their use of specific examples to illustrate points, and the quality of the writing. See “Guidelines for
Taking History Exams,” which can be found in this folder, for more information.
1) Write an essay comparing the royal absolutism of Louis XIV in France and the constitutional system that arose in
England during the same period. How were these different political systems justified? What were the strengths and
weaknesses of each? Which system do you believe was most effective in the long term?
2) Why were the movements for independence in Haiti and Spanish America were so complex and violent, and why
were the new nations that followed independence so unstable? Illustrate your points with specific evidence from the
history of the Haitian and/or Spanish American independence movements.
3) What were the most important causes and effects of the French Revolution? In answering, you should discuss the
key features of the “Old Regime” and explain how they gave rise to revolutionary sentiment; the intellectual trends
that inspired the Revolution; the most important changes brought about by the Revolution; and the impact of the
Revolution on nineteenth and twentieth century Europe and America.
4) Why is the Industrial Revolution considered to be perhaps the greatest watershed of modern history? In
answering, you will need to explain what the Industrial Revolution was and to analyze the ways in which it brought
about sweeping transformations not only in the countries that industrialized, but also in those that did not. Include in
your essay an explanation of why England was the first country to industrialize.
5) During the late nineteenth century, the industrialized nations of Western Europe and North America entered a
new phase of “imperialism,” and nearly all of the world’s nations felt its impact. What motivated these new
expansionist tendencies on the part of the “West”? What were some of its consequences for individual nations? In
answering, you should take examples from one or more of the following cases: India, Africa, China, the Ottoman
Empire, Mexico and Russia.
6) Some historians argue that WWII was merely a continuation of WWI after a twenty-year “truce.” They maintain