Questions and answers from the book.

1. CAMBRIDGEAS
HISTORYREVISION
AGEOFDEVELOPMENT
QUESTIONSANDANSWERS

2. QUESTION1PAGE109
China offered potential for raw materials and markets. European
countries prized the valuable raw materials that China possessed. The
USA did not want to be totally reliant on the domestic market and was
unable to export to Europe due to the policy of protectionism. (see
page 105)

3. QUESTION2PAGE109
Reasons include the following:
• The weakness and unpopularity of the ruling Manchu dynasty.
• Chinese nationalists rebelled against the government’s failure to
prevent foreign interference in China. Japan gained land at China’s
expense following war (1895) and in 1904–05, Russia and Japan were
effectively fighting over control of Chinese territory.
• As China modernised and became increasingly westernised, demands
for reform grew.
• In 1908 the empress died, leaving a three-year-old son as heir to the
throne. This provided the opportunity for rebellion, which began
amongst soldiers. A civil war seemed inevitable. The emperor
abdicated and China became a republic. (see pages 104–7)

4. QUESTION3PAGE109
A balanced assessment of the impact of internal and external factors is
required, leading to the development of a clear and consistent
argument, supported by appropriate factual evidence:
• Internal factors: lack of strong, central government; weaknesses and
unpopularity of the ruling Manchu dynasty; effects of internal
rebellions (e.g. Boxer Rebellion); disputes between those who wanted
to maintain Chinese traditions and those who wanted to
modernise/industrialise; the ending of Manchu rule and the birth of
the republic; Yuan Shih-kai’s failure to keep the support of the army
and maintain order; disintegration into hundreds of small states; rise of
the warlords.

5. QUESTION3PAGE109
External factors: European countries, the USA and Japan all sought
involvement in China for trade; the aggressive actions taken by
foreigners (e.g. suppression of the Boxer Rebellion); loss of land to
Japan in 1895 and 1905; Japan gaining extra power and influence
within China during the First World War. (see pages 104–9)

6. QUESTION4PAGE109
This was a movement in support of Chinese nationalism, but it rejected
traditional Chinese customs – it argued that China should modernise
and, essentially, adopt the ideas of the foreign nations that were
exploiting the country. It essentially wanted China to belatedly do what
Japan had done during the late 19th century. It was a unifying force in a
disunited China. (see page 109)

7. QUESTION1PAGE113
Sun Yat-sen wanted China to adopt Western-style systems of
democracy, agriculture and industry. He strongly opposed the Manchu
dynasty and became provisional president of the new republic in 1912,
a position he could not hold on to because of Yuan’s control of the
army.
Sun’s beliefs can be summarised by his Three Principles – Nationalism
(a strong and unified China), Democracy (based on an effective system
of education) and Land Reform (to encourage new and more efficient
agricultural practice). (see pages 110–12)

8. QUESTION2PAGE113
Although they were both staunch nationalists, differences between the
two leaders include:
• Sun was in favour of westernisation, Chiang wanted to preserve
Chinese traditions.
• Sun was willing to work closely with communists, Chiang increasingly
saw them as a threat. Sun was a political idealist, Chiang was more
practical and willing to use armed force to gain power.
• Chiang used the military power of the KMT to erode the power of the
warlords, supported businessmen, bankers, factory owners and
wealthy landowners, and effectively rejected Sun’s aims for social
reform. (see pages 110–13)

9. QUESTION3PAGE113
Reasons include the following:
• KMT forces were better organised than the armies of warlords.
• Chiang exploited communist support to gain the assistance of Soviet
military equipment and advisers.
• The KMT was welcomed by ordinary Chinese people, weary of the
repression by the warlords.
• Chiang was ruthless – e.g. violent ending of the alliance with the
communists once he no longer needed their support. (see pages 112–
13)

10. QUESTION4PAGE113
Chiang both feared the potential power of the communists and saw
them as an embarrassment. He had no intention of carrying out the
land and social reforms that the communists promised, as his own
political beliefs favoured the wealthy landowners, industrialists and
businessmen. He felt that the communists were a threat to his own
ability to gain power in China.

11. QUESTION1PAGE118
A balanced, clear and consistent argument is required.
In support of the statement, it could be argued that Chiang’s KMT
disappointed Chinese people in many ways: its government was
inefficient and corrupt; it protected the interests of wealthy
landowners and businessmen rather than those of the majority of
Chinese people; the KMT made no real attempt to carry out the social
reforms that Sun had promised; the KMT made little effort to
modernise China; the KMT made no attempt to counter Japanese
aggression.

12. QUESTION1PAGE118
In challenging the statement, it could be argued that Mao appealed to
the vast majority of Chinese people – the peasants; support from the
communists had enabled the KMT to gain power in the first place; Mao
gained the respect of the rural peasant population during the Long
March; Mao understood the importance of propaganda in gaining
public support; Mao was able to portray the CCP as the real nationalist
party of China by fighting against Japan. (see pages 113–18)

13. QUESTION2PAGE118
Mao was able to argue that the Long March was a success because:
• despite its potential military advantages, the KMT could not defeat
the communist marchers
• the marchers survived attacks from the KMT, warlords and Tibetan
tribesmen
• it travelled enormous distances and overcame difficult terrain
• the march gained support from peasants, impressed by the marchers’
commitment and refusal to steal from local people
• he portrayed the marchers as martyrs, willing to make sacrifices for
the good of China
• it was a major propaganda boost for the CCP, and Mao was an expert
at exploiting such opportunities. (see pages 115–17)

14. QUESTION3PAGE118
Faced with Japanese aggression, Chiang’s KMT adopted a policy of non-
resistance – Chiang’s priority was to defeat the warlords and he
realised that KMT forces could not compete with those of Japan.
Chiang saw communism as a bigger threat to KMT power than Japan.
This policy was not popular with the Chinese people and, indeed, was
opposed by many members of the KMT. Mao’s CCP fought a guerrilla
campaign against Japanese forces, and was able to portray the
communists as the true party of Chinese nationalism. As a result,
support for the CCP grew. (see pages 117–18)

15. QUESTION4PAGE118
The source shows that support for the CCP was growing amongst the
largest group of Chinese people, the rural peasants. The CCP was
carrying out the reforms it had promised – redistribution of land and
property, removal of unfair taxation, etc. The source also shows that
the KMT had done nothing to assist the rural peasants, despite the
promises implicit in Sun’s Three Principles; if anything, their ‘burden’
had grown worse under KMT government. (see pages 111–18)

16. QUESTION1PAGE127
While the Western powers were fighting in Europe, Japan was able to
take advantage in many ways – for example:
• increasing exports (which Europeans could no longer supply)
• providing shipping to Britain and its allies
• rapidly increasing its merchant fleet
• taking German regions of China’s Shantung Province
• gaining greater power and influence in China (e.g. the 21 Demands;
providing loans). (see page 37)

17. QUESTION2PAGE127
The USA and European nations were concerned by Japan’s increasing
power in Asia and, in particular, its growing influence over China. A
particular worry was the growth of the Japanese navy. The Washington
Naval Conference effectively imposed limits on the size of Japan’s navy
and its power over China. There are two different views amongst
historians about why Japan agreed to this:
• Confronted with the combined power of Britain and the USA, Japan
had little choice but to agree – it could not possibly win a naval arms
race against these two countries.
• Japan was adopting a more democratic form of government, and
domestic reform was seen as more important than military expansion.
Many Japanese politicians believed that international co-operation
would guarantee Japan’s security and enable it to continue its
economic expansion in China peacefully. (see pages 119–20)

18. QUESTION3PAGE127
A balanced, clear and consistent argument is required.
• In support of the statement, it could be argued that the economic
boom that Japan experienced during the First World War had ended
by 1921, by which time other countries had revived their own
industries and exports. This led to high unemployment and political
dissatisfaction.
• Japan was badly hit by the economic crisis following the Wall Street
Crash in 1929. As a small country with limited raw materials, Japan
needed to expand its influence in order to gain access to materials
and markets (e.g. Manchuria). This would be particularly important in
the event of war, since Japan could be starved into submission
without overseas possessions.

19. QUESTION3PAGE127
In challenging the statement, it could be pointed out that there were
non-economic reasons
– for example, democracy was new in Japan; parliamentary democracy
gained a reputation for being corrupt and inefficient; many Japanese
people saw the agreements made at the Washington Naval Conference
as proof of the government’s weakness towards foreigners; army and
navy leaders felt that Japan was being too ‘soft’ on China; there was
fear of Russian influence within the region. (see pages 119–23

20. QUESTION4PAGE127
The cartoon is heavily supportive of Roosevelt, using sarcasm to make
its point. Roosevelt had long argued that it was necessary to confront
the growing threat posed by Japan to US interests in the region. He had
been derided as a warmonger for suggesting that the USA should enter
the Second World War. It is ironic, therefore, that Roosevelt was then
blamed for the USA’s lack of readiness for the attack on Pearl Harbor.
The banners held by people in the background reflect the criticism
Roosevelt had received for suggesting that the USA should enter the
war (‘we aren’t in any danger’, etc.). The cartoonist is arguing that the
same people who had criticised Roosevelt for urging US entry into the
war are now – in the nationalistic fervour following the attack on Pearl
Harbor – criticising Roosevelt for not being adequately prepared (e.g.
one of the people in the foreground is wearing a shirt with the word
‘isolationists’ on it). (see pages 125–8)

21. QUESTION1PAGE129
Fair: as president, Roosevelt must accept responsibility for the failure of US
intelligence to identify the focus of a likely Japanese attack. Roosevelt had
also been prepared to negotiate with Japan, relying on economic sanctions
to force the country to back down. It has been claimed that Roosevelt knew
Japan was intending to attack Pearl Harbor, yet did nothing to prevent it
because he wanted the USA to enter the war.
Unfair: Roosevelt had long argued that the USA should confront Japan and
enter the war. He had been derided and prevented from taking action by the
Senate and public opinion (isolationist and anti-war). Although the Japanese
code had been broken, he could not have known the exact location of a
Japanese attack, and other locations seemed far more likely. Congressional
investigations found no evidence that Roosevelt had advance knowledge
about Pearl Harbor.
Answers need to be based on a balanced assessment of the evidence,
leading to a clear and consistent argument. (see pages 125–8)

22. QUESTION2PAGE129
Japan had long been concerned by the threat posed by the USSR, their
conflicting interests in China having led to war in the past. In part,
therefore, it could be argued that the Japanese invasion of Manchuria
and war with China were methods of keeping Russian influence at bay.
There are, however, more logical explanations: gaining vital raw
materials, such as coal and iron ore, essential to maintain Japanese
industry; dissatisfaction with the government’s decision to agree to
arms limitation at the Washington Naval Conference; dissatisfaction
with democratic form of government; the growth of ultra-nationalism
in the wake of economic problems; Japan’s developing relations with
Nazi Germany. (see pages 121–5)

23. QUESTION3PAGE129
Cause of concern: it brought foreign powers into the region (e.g.
European nations, the USA). Of particular concern was the USSR,
whose desire to gain parts of China had long brought Japan and the
USSR into conflict. Many Japanese politicians were afraid that the USSR
was planning to attack Japan. There was also the fear of a naval arms
race with the USA.
Opportunity: Japan was a small, heavily populated island that needed
raw materials and a market for its products. China offered both and
was seemingly too weak to resist Japanese aggression. China’s
weakness therefore made it possible for Japan to expand its own
economic, political and military power within the region. (see pages
119–28)